Trump has repeatedly asserted that he could resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine within a day if re-elected as president.
During a CNN town hall in May 2023, Trump stated, “Russians and Ukrainians are dying. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll make sure that happens — I’ll get it done in 24 hours.” He emphasized this would occur following meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he continues to echo this promise on his campaign trail.
In a recent debate with President Joe Biden, Trump argued, “If we had a real president, a president who was respected by Putin … he would never have invaded Ukraine.”
However, Russia’s United Nations ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, countered Trump’s claims, stating that ending the Ukrainian crisis is not feasible in a single day. Nebenzia highlighted that Russia and Ukraine were close to an agreement in April 2022 in Istanbul, shortly before Russia’s invasion began on February 24, 2022. Russia asserts that its “special military operation” commenced in 2014 after clashes in Ukraine’s eastern region led to the annexation of Crimea by Moscow.
According to Nebenzia, Ukraine’s Western supporters hindered the April 2022 peace deal and encouraged Kyiv to continue its resistance against Russia. He criticized Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s peace efforts, dismissing them as inadequate and urging him to adopt a more pragmatic approach considering the developments since April.
International efforts to address the conflict have been complicated. During a meeting in Switzerland last month, nearly 80 countries emphasized Ukraine’s territorial integrity as fundamental for any peace agreement. However, key developing nations did not participate, and Russia did not attend the conference.
Nebenzia referenced Putin’s recent proposal on June 14, offering an immediate ceasefire and negotiations if Ukraine withdraws troops from the four regions annexed in 2022 and renounces plans to join NATO. Zelenskyy has rejected this as an ultimatum, vowing not to cede any territory.
