President Donald Trump on Friday cast himself as the ultimate arbiter of any peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, in an exclusive conversation with POLITICO.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet with Trump in Florida on Sunday and told reporters he’s bringing with him a new 20-point plan for peace. The framework includes a proposed demilitarized zone and the meeting is expected to focus on U.S. security guarantees.
But in an interview, Trump appeared lukewarm to Zelenskyy’s latest overture and in no rush to endorse the Ukrainian president’s proposal.
“He doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” Trump said. “So we’ll see what he’s got.”
Still, Trump believed he could have a productive meeting this weekend.
“I think it’s going to go good with him. I think it’s going to go good with [Vladimir] Putin,” Trump said, adding that he expects to speak with the Russian leader “soon, as much as I want.”
Trump’s comments came the day after Zelenskyy spoke with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law. Zelenskyy called that a “good conversation.”
They also come the day after the United States launched airstrikes against ISIS in Nigeria, a move that the president said on social media was in retaliation for the militant group’s killing of Christians “at levels not seen for many years, and even centuries!”
Trump told POLITICO that the strike was originally to take place on Wednesday but the president ordered it delayed one day – for symbolic reasons.
“They were going to do it earlier,” Trump said. “And I said, ‘nope, let’s give a Christmas present.’ … They didn’t think that was coming, but we hit them hard. Every camp got decimated.”
Trump also confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would visit him this weekend.
“I have Zelenskyy and I have Bibi coming. They’re all coming. They all come,” Trump said. “They respect our country again.”
Netanyahu, according to a report from NBC, will brief Trump on the growing threat from Iran.
Zelenskyy’s meeting, in addition to security guarantees, will focus on management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and territorial control of Donbas, the eastern territories claimed by Moscow.
Zelenskyy’s plan, which Ukrainian officials have described as an attempt to show flexibility without conceding territory, has received little public reaction from Washington.
Zelenskyy’s offer of a demilitarized zone came with a key condition: Russia would have to withdraw its forces from a corresponding stretch of land in Donetsk.
Russia has given no indication that it is willing to accept anything short of full control over the region, underscoring the gulf that remains between the two sides.
But Trump noted that Russia’s economy is under severe strain. “Their economy is in tough shape, very tough shape,” he said.
