The US President Donald Trump believes that "the time has come" to hold elections in Ukraine.
He stated this in an interview with Politico.
"I think the time has come. I think itʼs an important time to hold elections. Theyʼre using the war to not hold elections, but I think the Ukrainian people should have that choice," he stressed.
Trump also suggested that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could win the election.
"I donʼt know who would win. But elections havenʼt been held there for a long time. You know, they talk about democracy, but it gets to the point where itʼs not democracy anymore," the American leader noted.
He also stated that Russia is in a "stronger negotiating position" because it is a "much larger country".
According to Trump, Zelensky has not yet read the latest draft of the peace plan, but "his people" — his deputies and closest associates — allegedly "liked" it.
Elections in Ukraine during the war
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. Kellogg argued that “most democracies hold elections during wartime”, and he considers this a sign of a strong democracy.
Zelensky said that Moscow needs "its own person" as president of Ukraine to lead the country institutionally and make it work.
The current head of state is convinced that parliamentary or presidential elections in Ukraine can only be held after a ceasefire and security guarantees are achieved.
Peace plan for Ukraine
The first version of the peace plan proposed by the United States consisted of 28 points. It provided for the recognition of Crimea, as well as the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, as de facto Russian.
After a series of negotiations between Ukraine, the United States, and European partners in Geneva starting on November 23, the American plan was reduced from 28 points to 19, taking into account the Ukrainian position.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the document retained the points on the need to release civilians and prisoners of war according to the formula "all for all" and to return Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsia, who was part of the delegation at the negotiations, said that the clause on amnesty for potential war criminals was reworked to take into account "the complaints of those who suffered in the war".
The US also agreed not to limit the size of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the issue of territories was put on hold — they should be discussed by Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump.
The next meeting of the American and Ukrainian delegations took place on November 30 in Florida. The United States was represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trumpʼs special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trumpʼs son-in-law Jared Kushner.
After the meeting, Serhiy Kyslytsia wrote that the start of the negotiations in Florida was "good", and added that "the warm atmosphere promotes progress".
Later, on December 2, Witkoff and Kushner traveled to Moscow for talks with the Russian side on a peace plan for Ukraine. No concrete decisions were made at the talks, although Russia called the meeting “successful”.
NBC, citing a Russian source, reported that the Kremlin will not make concessions on three issues: the territories of the Donetsk region, limitations on the size of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and international recognition of the territories seized by Russia. But Russia is ready to be flexible on the issue of Russian assets frozen in the EU.
Zelensky then held a final two-hour phone call with Trump representatives Witkoff and Kushner. According to Axios sources, the most difficult topics during the conversation were the territories and US security guarantees for Ukraine.
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