Zelensky Believes Trump Is ‘Capable Of Stopping Putin’

With a mere couple weeks away from Trump sitting at the president’s desk in the Oval Office, Ukraine’s Zelensky is trying to play nice and speak positive things of the US president-elect after some prior tensions.

Despite Trump’s return to power being a source of anxiety in Kiev and for NATO, Zelensky in a recent interview with a British news outlet said he expects continued support from Washington into the Trump administration with no problems.

“Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing,” the Ukrainian leader said, and added: “His qualities are indeed there.”

That’s when he emphasized of Trump: “He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin. He is able to do this.”

Zelensky could be placing hope in a Financial Times report from last month which said, ”In a boost for allies deeply concerned over their ability to support and protect Ukraine without Washington’s backing, Trump now intends to maintain US military supplies to Kyiv after his inauguration.”

However, this could easily also be seen as Trump’s team signaling Moscow in preparation for negotiations, or a tactic of sorts. The US/Kyiv side will seek to negotiate from a position of strength, despite Ukraine forces being beaten back along the frontlines in the east.

Another reason Zelensky might be optimistic about continuing strong support under Trump is that the president-elect has nominated a number of hawks to key foreign policy positions.

For example, incoming National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Envoy to the Ukraine War Keith Kellogg have expressed support for continued NATO escalation in arms transfers to Ukraine’s military. They’ve even in the recent past praised Biden’s constant weapons deliveries.

Zelensky has stood firm on a future path to NATO, something which Moscow considers a non-starter:

Zelenskiy has said that achieving a just peace for Ukraine meant receiving solid security guarantees from its allies, joining the European Union and receiving an invitation to join the NATO alliance, a notion rejected by Moscow.

“Naturally, any security guarantees without the United States are weak security guarantees for Ukraine,” he said.

Zelenskiy said he wanted to ensure that any U.S. plan on a settlement took account of Ukraine’s views.

The rumor is that Trump’s peace plan envisions a 20-year waiting period for Ukraine to join the Western military alliance. But Putin’s position is that this just delays major war. Moscow has condemned the idea of Kiev joining NATO at any future date.

So one side or the other is going to have to give on this point, if Trump is to fulfill his constant campaign promises of quickly bringing the war to an end.