France's President Emmanuel Macron (C) gives a thumbs up, flanked by US President-elect Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, following a meeting at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Saturday. AFP
US President-elect Donald Trump urged an immediate ceasefire and negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to halt 'the madness' on Sunday, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Kremlin to outline their conditions. Trump's comments came just hours after his first face-to-face meeting with Zelensky in Paris since winning last month's US election. Trump has pledged to negotiate an end to the conflict but has yet to provide specifics.
'Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness,' Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social, noting that Kyiv had lost around 400,000 soldiers. 'There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin.' He added, 'I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!' referring to Russian President Putin.
In Paris for the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral, Trump met with Zelensky on Saturday for about an hour, alongside host President Emmanuel Macron. The interaction between Trump and Zelensky was cordial, with both shaking hands and smiling, though the details of their conversation remained unclear. Reports from the French and Ukrainian sides described the talks as good and productive.
Zelensky responded to Trump's message on Sunday, emphasizing that peace required guarantees, not just a document. 'When we talk about effective peace with Russia, we must first and foremost talk about effective guarantees for peace. Ukrainians want peace more than anyone else,' he said on X. 'It cannot simply end with a piece of paper and a few signatures. A ceasefire without guarantees can be reignited at any moment, as Putin has already done before. To ensure that Ukrainians no longer suffer losses, we must guarantee the reliability of peace and not turn a blind eye to occupation.'
Trump's figure of 400,000 Ukrainian soldiers lost in the war included both killed and wounded. Zelensky clarified that 43,000 soldiers had been killed and 370,000 wounded.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov held a conference call with reporters to address Trump's comments. Peskov stated that Russia is open to talks but they must be based on agreements reached in Istanbul in 2022 and current battlefield realities, where Russian forces have been advancing rapidly since the war's early days in 2022. Putin has repeatedly mentioned that a preliminary agreement from the Istanbul talks, which was never implemented, could serve as a basis for future negotiations.
'Our position on Ukraine is well known,' Peskov said. 'The conditions for an immediate stop to hostilities were set out by President Putin in his speech to the Russian Foreign Ministry in June of this year. It is important to recall that it was Ukraine that refused and continues to refuse negotiations,' he added. Putin has stated that Ukraine must not join NATO and that Russia should maintain control over four Ukrainian regions for a peace deal to be viable. Peskov noted that Zelensky's ban on contacts with the Russian leadership would need to be revoked for talks to proceed.
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