AFP :
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Russia’s war against his country will “end sooner” than it otherwise would have done once Donald Trump becomes US president next year.
“It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens,” Zelensky said in an interview with Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne.
“The war will end, but we don’t know the exact date,” he added.
Zelensky said he had a “constructive exchange” with Trump during their telephone conversation after his victory in the US presidential election.
“I didn’t hear anything that goes against our position,” he added.
Throughout the election campaign, Trump criticized the tens of billions of dollars in aid provided for Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, and he promised he would resolve the conflict “in 24 hours,” without ever explaining how.
‘Diplomatic means’
On Saturday, Zelensky said that Kyiv would like to end the war with Russia next year through “diplomatic means.”
February 2025 would mark the third anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, with Russia’s troops gaining ground in recent months against Kyiv’s outmanned and outgunned soldiers.
He also spoke a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin held his first phone call with a major Western leader, speaking to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who initiated the call despite Kyiv’s objections.