Officials close to the US President Donald Trump held secret negotiations with the main political opponents of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
This is reported by Politico.
According to the publicationʼs sources in the Ukrainian parliament and an American foreign policy expert, Trumpʼs representatives communicated with former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and members of Petro Poroshenkoʼs European Solidarity party.
Washington is convinced that Zelensky will not be re-elected to a second presidential term due to Ukrainiansʼ war fatigue and "public disillusionment" with the level of corruption. According to Politico, the politicianʼs ratings have increased slightly after his conflict with Trump in the Oval Office.
In secret talks, the parties are discussing holding presidential elections after a temporary ceasefire is reached but before full-scale peace talks begin. The official position of the US administration is that Donald Trump does not interfere in Ukraineʼs internal politics. The US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said that "all Trump wants is [to have] a partner for peace".
Recent polls show that Zelensky is still more popular than Poroshenko and Tymoshenko. According to the British sociological company Survation, he has 44% support, the fifth president of Ukraine — 10%, and the former prime minister — 5.7%.
Zelenskyʼs closest rival is former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who is reportedly trailing him by more than 20%.
- In February, Trump’s special representative for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg said that Washington expects 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. Keith Kellogg argued that “most democracies hold elections during wartime”, and he considers this a sign of a strong democracy.
- Zelensky has said that Moscow needs “its own man” as president of Ukraine to rule the country institutionally and make it dependent. He claims that Ukrainians do not want elections during the war.
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