Donald Tusk’s remark has come amid media reports claiming that the US president-elect could propose creating a demilitarized zone
Donald Trump, the US President-elect, could unveil his vision for peace in Ukraine in the coming days, according to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Tusk predicts that Trump will propose a timeframe for a potential truce, along with security guarantees for Ukraine.
During his campaign, Trump repeatedly vowed to end the Ukraine conflict within “24 hours,” without elaborating on specifics. The president-elect told US media that he would inform Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, “No more. You got to make a deal.” He also suggested that he would use further assistance to Ukraine as leverage to pressure Moscow into negotiations.
On Saturday, Polish Radio quoted Tusk as saying that Trump’s team was still finalizing their plan for Ukraine. However, Tusk added that he anticipates the US president-elect to publicly release certain key elements of the plan in the near future, including a timeline for a potential ceasefire, the line along which it would take effect, and security guarantees for Ukraine.
According to the broadcaster, Tusk stated that “these will definitely be solutions that will involve less US interference in Ukrainian affairs.”
That same day, the prime minister announced plans to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and the leaders of the Nordic and Baltic states. Tusk cited the emergence of a “new political landscape” following Donald Trump’s election as the 47th US president.
He explained that Europe was facing 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 emphasized, 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. According to the media outlet, most of these proposals involve “freezing the war in place… and forcing Ukraine to temporarily suspend its quest to join” NATO, with the matter potentially postponed “for at least 20 years.”
The WSJ claimed that one of the proposals under discussion included the creation of a demilitarized zone along the current front line. The article quoted an unnamed Trump adviser as stating that European nations, rather than American troops or US-funded international organizations such as the UN, would be responsible for maintaining peace in the zone.