Adviser to the head of the President's Office Mykhailo Podolyak spoke about informal communications between the Ukrainian side and the team of US President Donald Trump. He emphasized that the Americans need to declare their position regarding the end of the war.
He shared this in a comment to the RBC-Ukraine YouTube channel.
Ukraine has communications with Trump's team
According to the adviser, there are currently certain informal communications with Trump's team at various levels.
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— The issue here is that the team of the current president (USA — Ed.) needs to clearly state its position regarding the end of the war, — noted Podolyak.
He added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized achieving a just peace, and not just the need to end the war.
In his opinion, any negotiations with Russia can only take place if there is a clear understanding of what the parties want.
— If you sit down at the negotiating table and play on Putin's terms, then that's one thing. And somehow it seems to me that Trump is unlikely to go down this path. Because this is an absolute reset of his personal reputation. For the type of politician that Trump is, personal reputation is extremely important. And if you sit down at the negotiating table without an instrument of coercion with Russia, then there is no point in expecting any productivity from this, — Podolyak stated.
The advisor believes that expanding contacts with the Russian Federation will only confirm that there is no point in negotiating with this country.
— The only question is how long it will take for Trump to realize this. Either his reputation falls, or Russia's reputation is completely destroyed. And then we will see a completely different militaristic support for Ukraine. Much faster than the previous administration did, — said Podolyak.
By the way, Vladimir Zelensky said that a meeting with US President Donald Trump is currently being prepared, but the exact date has not yet been determined.
