Quotes
I’m very disappointed, I hear that they’re upset about not having a seat [at the talks],
Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida when asked about the Ukrainian reaction
Together with European Foreign Ministers, I spoke to [US secretary of state Marco Rubio] after his talks in Riyadh. Russia will try to divide us. Let’s not walk into their traps. By working together with the US, we can achieve a just and lasting peace – on Ukraine’s terms.”
Kaja Kallas, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, tweetedI think I have the power to end this war, and I think it's going very well,
Trump said
I know France was willing to do that, and I thought that was a beautiful gesture,
added Trump, sayingThey were very good. Russia wants to do something. They want to stop the savage barbarianism."
Trump saidYou have leadership now that's allowed a war to go on that should have never even happened, even without the United States,
Trump said from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida Tuesday –
And if they want a seat at the table well the people of Ukraine could well it's a long time since we've had an election. That's not a Russia thing, that's something coming from me and many other countries as well.
reports the Mirror
If they want to do that, that'd be fine."
Trump, speaking from his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago, expressed openness to the idea of European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine as part of a settlement, telling reportersWe have a situation where we haven't had elections in Ukraine, where we essentially have martial law,
Trump declaredI know France has mentioned it. Others have mentioned it, the UK has mentioned it."
He addedI believe President Zelensky said last week that he doesn't know where half of the money is that we gave him,
Trump said
During martial law, elections are impossible to hold [...] The leaders of all parties have agreed that elections will not be held until at least six months after the end of martial law,
Arakhamia said
All the frontrunners in the election will be pro-Western, pro-European candidates who want to defend the country against Russia and probably agree on most matters, including on foreign affairs and defense, but have their own kind of domestic political issues where they differ,
said D’AnieriIt is very important for Kellogg to come to Ukraine. Then he would understand the people and all our circumstances,
Zelenskyy said, in comments to The GuardianA lot of people who are actually critical of him would still vote for him, just so as not to risk changing horses in midstream,
Hale went onThe only person that benefits from elections before there's a durable peace deal is Putin,
said Andrew D’Anieri, fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia CenterZelensky is unlikely to win the elections, if they were to be held in Ukraine, because his popularity dropped significantly at the end of 2024,
said Russian-born U.S. intelligence expert Rebekah KofflerZelenskyy's prospects to win the elections are contingent upon the exact terms of the ceasefire, namely, the public perception of them as a ‘victory,’ ‘honorable draw’ or ‘defeat,’
said Ivan Gomza, public policy professor at the Kyiv School of EconomicsThe Russians, in turn, will almost certainly run clandestine operations to influence the elections in order to elect a pro-Russian candidate,
Koffler added
The only people that come anywhere close to Zelenskyy in the polls are people like General Zaluzhnyi, with really established, patriotic credentials in Ukraine,
said Henry Hale, professor at George Washington University who specializes in public opinion in Ukraine