Yermak: Zelenskyy-Trump meeting to happen "very soon"

The head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak said on 16 January that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to meet with Donald Trump after his inauguration as US president on 20 January.

On 20 January, Donald Trump will officially become the President of the United States. Ukraine’s ability to continue fighting against Russia depends heavily on Trump’s future foreign policy towards Ukraine. Earlier, he claimed he would end the war as soon as possible and cut off military aid. However, as the inauguration approaches, such claims have become less frequent.

Speaking on a national telethon, according to a TSN news service, Yermak said Ukraine intends to begin official talks with the new US administration immediately after the inauguration.

“I expect that very soon there will be a meeting between President Trump, who will officially take office, and our President Zelenskyy to discuss specific plans and steps on how to end this war,” Yermak said.

America cannot be strong until Ukraine achieves a just peace, Yermak said. He said that Trump would unlikely take steps “to make America not strong.”

Yermak also said that the new administration should be “quickly and deeply informed about the real situation on the battlefield, as happened throughout the previous administration’s term.”

“It is crucial that this transition period is as short as possible. We will do everything to ensure this,” he added.

President Zelenskyy said that there is a chance to end Russia’s war against Ukraine within a year. He said that President-elect Trump can pressure Russia toward diplomacy.

“Mr. Trump wants to end the war. These are his messages, both public and non-public. He is able to put pressure on Russia. I am sure that Russia is afraid of America and China. And it is afraid of a united Europe,” the president said.

According to a recent survey, Ukrainian support for continuing the fight until victory has significantly declined. Only 38% of Ukrainians now favor fighting until achieving victory, while a mere 2% support immediate peace negotiations.

This marks a substantial shift from 2022, when in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Gallup found that 73% of Ukrainians supported fighting until victory. This number had already decreased to 63% by 2023.

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Yermak: Zelenskyy-Trump meeting to happen “very soon”