Trump has no personal hatred for Zelensky: expert assesses whether they can find common ground
Kyiv • UNN
The head of the Institute of American Studies assessed the chances of an understanding between Zelenskyy and Trump as high. According to him, the absence of personal enmity can help avoid territorial concessions.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has a fairly good chance of finding common ground with Donald Trump so that the latter will abandon the idea of territorial concessions from Ukraine. This opinion was expressed by Vladyslav Faraponov, head of the Institute of American Studies, to a journalist of UNN.
On the one hand, this is a challenge, but on the other hand, it is an opportunity to change certain dynamics. It is possible to end the war during Trump's term in principle, the question is on what terms. I want to think and hope that with adequate and thoughtful work on the part of the Ukrainian side, we can have positive results in working with the Trump administration. By positive, I mean the end of the war on terms acceptable to Ukraine
Asked what chances Zelensky has of finding common ground with Trump to make him abandon the idea of territorial concessions from Ukraine, Faraponov replied: "I think the chances are quite high. After all, Trump has no personal hatred for Zelenskyy. They can find common ground."
The expert also commented on whether we can expect Joe Biden to make strong decisions on Ukraine while he is still in office.
When asked whether Biden could be expected to authorize strikes with American weapons deep into russia, Faraponov replied: "I think we can count on that, but on the other hand, I think Republicans in Congress may question it."
The expert noted that granting permission to strike targets on Russian territory may contradict Trump's idea of ending the war.
If it's a non-public decision, a decision agreed upon informally with the current Senate and House of Representatives, then yes. But if not, it could potentially conflict with Trump's idea of ending the war. After all, he believes that he needs to negotiate with both sides - Zelensky and putin
Faraponov called it an unrealistic idea to put pressure on Biden to invite Ukraine to NATO.
This will definitely not happen. Such serious decisions require a mandate of trust, both from citizens and from fellow party members and opponents in both houses of Congress
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The inauguration of the US President is scheduled for January 20, 2025.
Context
The BBC reportedthat according to the latest projections, Donald Trump has 279 and Kamala Harris has 223 electoral votes out of 270 needed to win the US presidential election.
Donald Trump said during a speech to supporters in Florida, where he declared victory, that he was "going to stop the wars.
On October 26, US Republican vice presidential candidate James David Vance, commenting on the war in Ukraine, spoke about "ceding territory." He said that Donald Trump's leadership would promote a "peaceful" settlement.
On October 28, The Financial Times reportedthat if Donald Trump wins the US presidential election, he may resort to "rethinking" the Minsk agreements to try to "freeze" the war in Ukraine.
On October 31, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, commenting on the situation if Donald Trump, if he wins the US election, wants to simply force Ukraine to give up everything in order to reach an agreement with russia, said that he did not think this was possible today.
