CNN
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President Donald Trump missed a deadline to end the war in Ukraine.
Of course, no one really believed that Trump would be able to end a bitter three-year conflict in 24 hours, as he implausibly promised repeatedly as a candidate. Even his new special envoy to Ukraine asked for 100 days to find a solution.
Yet the missed deadline — and little mention of the conflict during Monday’s inauguration celebrations — nevertheless underscores how difficult the challenge of ending the fighting in Ukraine will be for the new president, who has so far made no public attempt to negotiate peace.
Among the long list of priorities listed by Trump during his inaugural address, Ukraine did not deserve to be mentioned. Although Trump declared himself a “peacemaker,” he offered no specific promises of continued U.S. aid to kyiv.
For now, it appears the first thing on Trump’s agenda will be a discussion with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, whom he accused of “destroying Russia” during a Monday speech in the Office Oval.
“He can’t be happy, he’s not doing very well,” Trump told reporters during a lengthy signing ceremony, a rare moment of criticism of the Russian president. “Russia is bigger, it has more soldiers to lose, but that’s no way to run a country.”
When asked how long the war would last, he said he could not answer until he spoke with the Russian leader.
“I need to speak to President Putin. We’re going to have to find out,” he said.
Indeed, Trump has asked his aides to arrange a phone call with Putin soon, with one goal of the conversation being to discuss an in-person meeting in the coming months to try to end the war in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter. Now that Trump is in office, U.S. and Russian officials can begin in earnest to arrange an in-person meeting. Switzerland and Serbia have both said they would be willing to host the event.
Any discussions between the two men will mark a radical departure from former President Joe Biden’s approach. He had not spoken directly with Putin in nearly three years, fearing that any conversation would be helpful in resolving the conflict.
Trump sees things differently. His view, described by a person familiar with his thinking, is that direct engagement with Putin is exactly what is needed to find a solution to end the war.
“How the hell are you going to find a way out of this mess if you don’t talk?” the person said, describing Trump’s approach.
It’s unclear exactly what that solution will look like, although officials privately acknowledge that it will almost certainly require concessions from the Ukrainians.
“The president said during his campaign that he wanted the dying to stop,” new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on NBC on Tuesday. “He wants the destruction to stop. I think it’s in everyone’s interest. Now, will it be easy? Will it be complicated? Of course, because each party will have to give something.
Beyond that, it is largely unclear to what extent Trump plans to continue the Biden administration’s strategy of providing weapons and intelligence to Ukraine, and — beyond his opposition to admitting from Ukraine to NATO – he did not say what security guarantees he would be willing to accept. would satisfy Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He also did not specify who will finance Ukraine’s reconstruction, although based on his past comments, it is unlikely to be the United States.
Speaking on Tuesday, Zelensky appeared concerned about Trump’s focus on the conflict and suggested that European countries need to step up their efforts.
The Ukrainian leader suggested that while the United States is an “indispensable” ally for Europe, the relationship may not be fully reciprocal.
“Will President Trump Notice Europe? asked Zelensky during his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “Does he consider NATO necessary and will he respect European institutions?
“Europe cannot afford to be second or third behind its allies,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky added that Europe “must learn to take full care of itself,” so that “the world cannot afford to ignore it.”
The Ukrainian leader also urged European countries to unite in the face of threats from Russia and Iran, highlighting the size of the Russian military compared to other European states and suggesting that no European country can alone stand up to Russia.
“This is not a situation where one country can protect itself alone. It’s about us all coming together to mean something,” he said.
CNN’s Catherine Nicholls contributed reporting.
