The United States wants Ukraine to hold presidential and parliamentary elections, potentially by the end of 2025, especially if a ceasefire with Russia can be agreed upon in the coming months.
This was stated by the US President Donald Trumpʼs special representative for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg in an interview with Reuters.
"Most democracies hold elections during wartime. I think itʼs important and itʼs good for democracy. Thatʼs the beauty of a strong democracy, you potentially have more than one person," he said.
Donald Trump and Kate Kellogg said they were working on a plan to broker a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine during the first few months of the new US presidential administration.
Trumpʼs plan is still not ready and no policy decisions have been made, according to two sources familiar with the matter, but in recent days, Keith Kellogg and other White House officials have discussed how to push Ukraine to agree to elections in exchange for an "initial ceasefire with Russia".
At the same time, sources in the Ukrainian government told the agency that the Trump administration has not officially demanded that Ukraine hold elections by the end of the year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a recent interview that elections are possible only after the end of the hot phase of the war, when Ukraine will remain in a strong position and with a strong army. He has not yet decided whether he will run for president again.
Trumpʼs plans for war in Ukraine
During his election campaign, Trump claimed that he could end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in one day”. However, after being elected president, his narratives changed. The American newspaper The Wall Street Journal writes that he instructed special envoy Keith Kellogg to end the war in Ukraine in 100 days.
Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly stressed that Ukraine will defend its integrity and will not cede its territories to Russia. In September 2024, Zelensky met with Donald Trump and presented him with a victory plan. According to the Ukrainian leader, the meeting was very meaningful.
The new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that under Donald Trumpʼs presidency, ending the Russia-Ukraine war will be the official policy of the United States. And Trump himself, two days after his inauguration, called on Putin to end the war or face heavy taxes and sanctions.
According to Zelensky, he is impressed by Trumpʼs tactics for ending the war in Ukraine.
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