Political analyst says Trump plans to settle the conflict at the expense of Kiev's interests

US President-elect Donald Trump plans to settle the Ukrainian conflict at the expense of Kiev's interests. This was stated by American political scientist Francis Fukuyama in an interview with Le Point magazine on Thursday, December 17.

"Trump has promised that he will reach a peace agreement. This will inevitably come at the expense of Ukraine," he said.

Fukuyama noted that Ukraine may offer territorial concessions in exchange for guarantees of NATO membership, but European leaders may not go for it because of additional military commitments. The political scientist also expressed his opinion about Trump's contemptuous attitude to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (term expired on May 20).

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Earlier in the day, Trump said he would be able to answer a question about Kiev's possible territorial concessions after "the first meeting with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine." On Dec. 17, he also said he was working hard to end the Ukrainian conflict and had already made "a little bit of progress."

On December 13, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg allowed the conflict in Ukraine to end in the coming months. According to him, the US President-elect is capable of decisive action on conflict resolution.

Before that, on December 3, was published "Kellogg's Plan" written in April on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, the author of which is the future special envoy of Trump. In his opinion, it is necessary to stop political isolation of the Russian Federation, putting pressure on Moscow and Kiev, as well as to start stimulating peaceful settlement more actively. Kellogg suggested the preservation of liberated territories by Russia, the easing of sanctions and the normalization of relations with the United States.

On November 29, the Foreign Intelligence Service pointed to NATO's desire to freeze the conflict in Ukraine in order to rebuild the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It was noted that the West might plan to use this to rebuild the Ukrainian army and prepare for a future offensive.

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