Trump and Scholz discussed ways to resolve the conflict in Ukraine
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President-elect Donald Trump had a telephone conversation on Thursday, December 19, in which they discussed ways to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
"Today, Chancellor Olaf Scholz had another telephone conversation with US President-elect Donald Trump. The main focus of the discussion was on security policy issues in Europe," the German government said in a statement published on its website.
Western leaders agreed that the conflict has gone on for too long and it is important to find a way to a just and sustainable settlement sooner rather than later.
Earlier, on December 17, American political scientist Francis Fukuyama suggested that Trump would try to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, but at the expense of Kiev's interests. Thus, the Ukrainians would allegedly agree to cede part of their territory in exchange for NATO membership.
On the same day, Trump said that he would be able to answer the 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 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.
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