Donald Tusk’s remark has come amid media reports claiming that the US president-elect could propose creating a demilitarized zone
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. © Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images US President-elect Donald Trump could present his vision of peace in Ukraine in the coming days, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has claimed. The head of government has predicted that the Republican would offer a timeframe for a potential truce as well as security guarantees for Kiev. While on the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly vowed to end the Ukraine conflict within “24 hours,” without specifying any details. The president-elect told the US media that he was going to tell Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky “No more. You got to make a deal.” He also implied that he would leverage further assistance to Kiev in a bid to coerce Moscow into negotiating. On Saturday, Polish Radio quoted Tusk as saying that Trump’s team was still working on their roadmap for Ukraine. Nevertheless, the Polish prime minister added that he expected the US president-elect to make public certain key elements in the near future, such as a timeline for a potential ceasefire, the line along which it would take effect, as well as security guarantees for Ukraine. According to the broadcaster, Tusk claimed that “these will definitely be solutions that will involve less US interference in Ukrainian affairs.”
That same day, the prime minister announced plans to hold meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as well as the leaders of the Nordic and Baltic states. Tusk cited the emergence of a “new political landscape” following the election of Donald Trump as the 47th US president. He explained that Europe was faced with a “serious challenge… in the context of a possible end to the Russian-Ukrainian war,” as quoted by Politico. “Nobody wants the conflict to escalate,” Tusk stressed, adding that “at the same time, nobody wants Ukraine to weaken or even capitulate.” The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, reported on Wednesday that Trump’s team was considering several proposals. Most of them, according to the media outlet, envisage “freezing the war in place… and forcing Ukraine to temporarily suspend its quest to join” NATO, with the matter potentially put on hold “for at least 20 years.” The WSJ claimed that among the proposals allegedly being discussed was the creation of a demilitarized zone along the current front line. The article quoted an unnamed Trump adviser as noting that it would not be American troops or US-funded international organizations such as the UN, but instead European nations, who would be tasked with maintaining peace there.
