Trump says time has come for Ukraine talks

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Dec. 8 pointed out that it was "time for Russian President Vladimir Putin to act" for talks on Ukraine.

"I know Vladimir [Putin] well. It's his time to act. China can help. The world is waiting!" - wrote Truth Social on its social media page.

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Earlier in the day, the West expressed hope that Trump's tripartite meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (term expired May 20) at the Elysee Palace, attended by French leader Emmanuel Macron, had helped prepare future steps on Ukraine after Trump's inauguration in January. The New York Times also reported that Trump and Zelensky's meeting at the opening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris demonstrated Kiev's willingness to make concessions on negotiations.

At the time, Trump also said that Zelensky would like to "make a deal" with Russia. According to him, it is necessary to immediately cease fire and start negotiations, otherwise the Ukrainian conflict may worsen. It is specified that Ukraine saw an opportunity to get closer to the future US leader and convey to him its position in the conflict. In turn, the official representative of the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov, commenting on Trump's words about Kiev's desire to "make a deal", recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that Russia is open to negotiations on Ukraine and welcomes proposals from China, India, Brazil and other countries.

Before that, on December 4, it became known that the Trump team has three plans to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. One of them is the plan of President-elect Keith Kellogg's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, the second proposal came from Vice President-elect JD Vance, and the third was put forward by Richard Grenell, Trump's former acting intelligence chief.

The last round of talks took place in Istanbul on March 29, 2022. They lasted about three hours. Later, Kiev officially refused contacts with Moscow.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.