The United States want Ukraine to sustain the elections, potentially by the end of the year, especially if Kiev reaches the truce in the coming months, said Special Envoy of President Donald Trump for Ukraine.
Keith Kellogg, Trump Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, said in an interview that Ukrainian presidential and parliamentary elections, who were suspended because of the war with Russia, “must be held.”
“Most democratic countries keep the elections and time of war. I think it is important to do so,” Kellogg said. “I think that’s good for democracy. It’s the beauty of solid democracy, you have more than one person who can potentially run.”
Trump and Kellogg said they were working on a plan to achieve an agreement in the first months of the new administration to end the war that broke out the full invasion of Russia in February 2022. years, writes Reuters.
They offer several details about their strategy for the ending of the chestern conflict in Europe since World War II, nor if they could detect such a plan.
The Trump plan is still in development and no decisions on politics, but Kellogg and other women’s house officials discussed that Ukraine pressed to agree to the elections with Russia, Sources told to acquaint those conversations .
Trump administration officials are also considered whether to require first truce before trying to mediate in achieving a more lasting agreement, sources said. If the presidential elections were held in Ukraine, the winner could be responsible for negotiating a long-term agreement with Moscow, the sources said.
The sources refused to reveal their name to discuss sensitive policy and safety issues.
It is not clear how such a proposal of the Trump Administration would be accepted in Kiev. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Ukraine can hold elections this year if the war ends and if strong security guarantees that would prevent Russia to renew hostility.
The High Advisor Kiev and the source of the Ukrainian government said that Trump administration has not yet formally asked Ukraine to maintain the presidential elections by the end of the year.
Greensky’s five-year term should have completed in 2024. years, but the presidential and parliamentary elections cannot be held under the extraordinary situation, which Ukraine introduced in February 2022. years.
Washington initiated a question of choices with higher officials in Greensko’s office 2023. and 2024. During the administration of Biden, former United States officials said.
State Department and White House officials said their Ukrainian counterparts that elections are key to the preservation of international and democratic norms, officials said.
Officials in Kiev were refused to discuss with Washington in recent months, saying the elections in the history of Ukraine could share Ukrainian leaders and potentially open space for Russian US campaigns, former SEs.
When asked about what ex-western officials and other two sources who were familiar with these issues, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry sand said: “We don’t have that information.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Rjabkov was quoted by the interfax agency January 27. January, saying that direct contacts between Moscow and Trump administration have not yet begun. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs claims that it is still waiting for the United States to approve the new envoy of Moscow in Washington, a position that is currently not filled.
Putin publicly stated that he does not consider Zelenic legitimate leader in the absence of a renovated election mandate and that the Ukrainian president does not have legal law to sign binding documents related to a potential peace agreement.
However, according to the Russian leader, Zelenskiy could participate in negotiations, but he must first revoke the decree signed in 2022. year, which banned negotiations with Russia until Putin be in power.
The source from the Ukrainian government said that Putin uses a question of choices as a false excuse to hinder future negotiations.
“(He) sets a trap, claiming that if Ukraine does not sustain the elections, it can later ignore any agreements,” said the source.
Ukrainian legislation explicitly prohibits the maintenance of presidential and parliamentary elections under the extraordinary situation.
A former Western official expressed concerns about the US election, saying that the abolition of an emergency could allow mobilized soldiers to leave the military, to give an exodus of the agent age for the military service to “escape from the country”.
It could also cause political instability, the source said, because it would make it a zelenic “dwarf” president, reducing his power and influence, and causing competition among potential causes.
If Trump presses Zelenia to agree to the elections, Washington could play in the hands of Putin’s recent statements that question Zellenic legitimacy, a former Western official said.
“Trump reacts, in my opinion, on … Russian feedback,” the official said. “Russia wants to see near Zellen.”
Some former US officials suspect that a peace agreement can be achieved in the coming months or that the elections will be held in 2025. years, especially because both parties are uncomfortable about how to start formal negotiations.
Kremlin reiterated that Putin was ready for negotiations without a prerequisite.
However, William Taylor, a former American ambassador in Ukraine, said Putin did not show readiness for serious negotiations.
Zelenskiy seeks US and Europe security guarantees as part of any agreement, including arranging a foreign battlefield to ensure Russia in the fulfillment of any truce.
(Vijesti.ba)
