During the election campaign, Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours. Nervousness is now increasing in the West.
Berlin taz | Is Trump sending the first signs of a quick end to the war between Ukraine and Russia? Apparently, the future US President Donald Trump is at least trying to back up his full-bodied announcement during the election campaign with headlines. The Washington Post had reported that Trump had spoken on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Monday, however, the Kremlin denied such a call. But: there is a fundamental willingness on both Trump’s side and Putin’s side to talk to each other.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz also announced on Sunday evening on ARD that he wanted to speak to Putin again “soon”. The last phone call took place in December 2022. With regard to Scholz, Moscow also signaled that it was open to dialogue with Western leaders. But Putin doesn’t want to pick up the phone himself.
Aside from phone calls, with the end of the traffic light government in Germany and Trump’s election victory in the USA, nervousness is spreading in Europe about what will happen with the Ukraine aid. Prime Minister Donald Tusk reported from Poland that he and his country were ready to take on a leadership role. A meeting is being planned with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and representatives of the Baltic and Nordic states.
At a meeting in Budapest of the European Political Community, Europe’s division over Ukraine solidarity became clear. Hungary’s head of state Viktor Orbán once again called for “peace negotiations”, and skepticism about the billions in aid for Ukraine is also increasing in Slovakia.
USA must remain reliable
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called the current situation a moment of interim that Putin was just waiting for. She called on Western allies to stand together. With regard to Trump, Baerbock said: The US government must remain a reliable partner. Meanwhile, the attacks on Ukraine continue with sudden severity. Several deaths have been reported after Russian air strikes in the south of the country. The Ukrainian military also warned of a possible ground attack in the Zaporizhia region. Due to an increased danger situation, the electricity was preventively switched off in the Kyiv, Odessa, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions. Russia is also preparing a major attack in the Kursk region to push back Ukrainian units. The New York Times had reported that around 50,000 soldiers were stationed there, including 10,000 from North Korea.
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