Ukraine alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to manipulate newly elected US President Donald Trump to achieve the peace deal on his terms without input from Ukraine or Europe and said that they will not succeed.
“He (Putin) wants to decide Europe’s fate without Europe and he seeks to talk about Ukraine without Ukraine,” stated Andriy Yermak, who heads the Presidential Office in Kyiv, cautioning about Russia’s efforts to establish direct negotiations with the United States regarding the conflict they initiated, Reuters reported.
Subsequently, at a security chiefs’ briefing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cautioned about “Putin’s readiness to continue the war and manipulate world leaders.”
“He wants to manipulate the desire of the President of the United States of America to achieve peace,” Zelenskyy stated during his regular evening social media address, while expressing confidence that “no Russian manipulations will succeed anymore.”
Putin ‘ready’ for negotiations
Following Putin’s indication on Friday about his willingness to discuss ending the Ukrainian invasion with Trump, Kyiv issued these statements.
“It is probably better for us to meet and, based on today’s realities, talk calmly about all areas that are of interest to both the US and Russia,” he stated on Russian state television, adding: “We have always said, and I want to emphasize this once again, that we are ready for these negotiations on Ukrainian issues.”
Trump’s re-election campaign included a promise to resolve the Ukrainian conflict within 24 hours of returning to the White House, citing his positive relationship with Putin.
Shortly after his inauguration on Monday, Trump expressed eagerness to communicate with his Russian counterpart, but by Wednesday, he threatened Russia with additional “taxes, tariffs and sanctions” if Putin failed to end his “ridiculous war” promptly.
Putin endorsed Trump’s unsubstantiated assertion regarding winning the 2020 US presidential election against Joe Biden.
Describing Trump as “smart” and “pragmatic”, he stated: “I cannot but agree with him that if he had been president – if his victory hadn’t been stolen in 2020 — then maybe there would not have been the crisis in Ukraine that emerged in 2022.”