Zelensky: "The War Will End Faster" Under Trump Administration

Update(1120ET): Merely a year ago or less, Ukrainian officials and Kiev's staunchest supporters essentially considered it 'treason' to even broach the possibility of peace talks with Russia. President Zelensky himself had frequently made it clear that he would not consider it so long as Putin is in power.

But on Friday, Zelensky issued some remarks which constitute a glaring 180-degree reversal, in the wake of Trump's election victory, on the prospect of peace in Ukraine. Zelensky stated that under the Trump administration "the war will end faster". He laid out the following in a fresh interview, according to a regional source:

"It is very important for us to have a just peace, so that we do not feel that we have lost our best because of the injustice that has been imposed on you. The war will end, but there is no exact date. Certainly, with the policies of this team that will now lead the White House, the war will end sooner. This is their approach, their promise to their society, and it is also very important to them," he said.

As for the earlier Putin-Scholz phone call, it ended on a note that the two leaders should talk again soon. Their discussion has been described as "frank" and "detailed" concerning the Ukraine conflict. Putin conveyed to the German leader that Russia-German relations have seen "unprecedented degradation" - according to TASS.

Below is the call summary/readout from the Russian side:

"The chancellor and the Russian president agreed to stay in contact from now on. The German government will ensure that allies and partners, as well as the EU and NATO leadership are informed," the source said.

In addition to the information released by the German government's press service after the conversation, the source said that Scholz expressed concern over reports about the alleged deployment of North Korean servicemen to Russia. According to him, this could allegedly lead to "a significant escalation and expansion of the conflict."

And most importantly the two expressed a desire for formal Ukraine talks:

Russia is open to talks to settle the conflict in Ukraine based on the proposals that were announced at the Foreign Ministry in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as they spoke by phone, the Kremlin said.

"As for the prospects for a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict, the Russian president noted that the Russian side has never refused and remains open to the resumption of the negotiations that were interrupted by the Kiev regime," the Kremlin said in a statement. "Russia's proposals are well known and outlined, in particular, in a June speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry."

All of this - especially Zelensky's apparent change of heart (or else realization that the war is unwinnable at this point) - points to strong momentum that talks could get underway before Trump is even sworn in on Jan.20. Zelensky, when he last met Trump in New York, had described that Ukraine has "been through hell".

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Potential near-term Russia-Ukraine negotiations to end the war continue to move toward reality in the wake of Donald Trump's election win. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Russian President Vladmir Putin are planning to hold their first phone call in almost two years on Friday. 

Bloomberg was the first to report the development, citing several sources, and highlights the uncertainty felt in Europe concerning Ukraine policy over Trump's return to the White House. "Germany is Ukraine’s second-biggest supporter after the US and has pledged billions of euros in additional aid," it notes.

Scholz first announced Sunday his desire to speak to Putin "soon" about achieving peace in Ukraine, bringing the war to an end. "Yes, I decided to talk to the president of Russia at the right time. But I'm a responsible politician, I don’t do it alone," Scholz told a German broadcaster.

The timing of the German leader's words suggest Trump being in the White House provides the nudge to finally get serious about diplomacy and negotiations with Moscow:

Scholz spoke with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday, with the German chancellor’s spokesman saying the two discussed working "toward a return to peace in Europe."

The last phone call between Putin and Scholz was all the way back in December 2022. Scholz made the call to urge that Russian troops leave Ukraine and return home, and there's been radio silence between the two throughout the war.

Since then, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has insisted that Putin was "no longer even prepared" to speak with the chancellor, amid Berlin ramping up is military support for Ukraine and drastically expanding its defense budget, reversing a posture of historic neutrality.

France's Macron had been the only European leader to hold semi-regular contact with Putin throughout the opening months of the war, but he came under severe criticism from some corners of Europe for doing so.

But the drastic political change in Washington is clearly changing the mood in war-weary Europe as well. Now, even Ukraine is getting the memo - that there's about to be a different track.

"Ukrainian officials have said for months that they would not cede territory occupied by Russia in any peace settlement. Now, as Ukraine contemplates an accelerated timetable for negotiations pushed by President-elect Donald J. Trump, it is putting at least as much importance on obtaining security guarantees as on where an eventual cease-fire line might fall," NY Times wrote Thursday.

"The territorial question is extremely important, but it’s still the second question," one Ukrainian official told the Times. "The first question is security guarantees."

Trump's team has been talking about pressuring Kiev to halt aspirations to join NATO for twenty years. It would likely be on that basis that Ukraine will seek pledges from Western partners for protection in the event Moscow breaks any potential deal.