War in Ukraine: kyiv will have to participate in negotiations to sign a peace agreement with Russia as Trump wants

On January 25, 2025, Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated that, in his opinion, peace with Russia could only be negotiated if kyiv had a place at the table. The opportunity to tell Donald Trump that the terms of such an agreement should be defined with parties other than Moscow and Washington.

US President Donald Trump could deliver on his promise to end the war in Ukraine but only if he includes kyiv in the negotiations, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday.

Terms to be defined

Zelensky also said the terms of any deal that might be struck under Donald Trump’s leadership were not yet clear – and might not even be clear to the US president himself – because Russian President Vladimir Putin has no interest in ending the conflict.

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Donald Trump, who took office Monday, promised during his election campaign to end the war within his first 24 hours in the White House, without specifying how. His aides have since suggested that a deal could take months.

The end of the war will be possible only if Donald Trump includes Ukraine itself in the negotiations, Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters during a visit by Moldovan President Maia Sandhu. “Otherwise it won't work. Because Russia doesn't want to end the war, while Ukraine wants to end it,” he said.

What peace are we talking about?

In another interview broadcast later Saturday, Volodymyr Zelensky said he believed Donald Trump really wanted to end the war, which has been going on for nearly three years.

“At the moment we don't know how it will happen because we don't know the details,” he told Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was released this month after being held for 21 days in Iran.

“I think President Trump himself doesn't know all the details. Because I would say a lot depends on what kind of just peace we can achieve. And whether Putin wants, in principle, to stop the war. I think he doesn't.”

“As for the organization of the talks, I hope that Ukraine will be there: I really hope that Ukraine will be there, (with) America, Europe and the Russians,” Volodymyr Zelensky also said.