Ukraine’s ex-foreign minister says Trump cannot broker peace deal between Ukraine and Russia

US President-elect Donald Trump will struggle to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine and could change his mind about withholding military aid, Ukraine former ­Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with The Times.

Following Trump’s election victory, discussions have emerged about potential peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, as Trump has expressed a desire to end the war swiftly. However, it remains uncertain how he will persuade Moscow to engage in negotiations. Reports suggest that Trump might consider a peace deal that compromises Ukraine’s territorial integrity, raising concerns among allies regarding future US support for Ukraine.

According to Kuleba, “fundamental differences” between Russia and Ukraine make peace impossible.

“In my view, there will be no quick negotiations,” he said.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded NATO membership as the price for peace. However, ex-Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba believes the Alliance might only offer Ukraine membership in 10–20 years. He emphasized that such a proposal would be rejected, as Ukraine would remain vulnerable to further Russian attacks during this period.

“The real end of this war will be only one of us surviving it. Either Ukraine or Putin,” believes Kuleba.

Additionally, Kuleba criticized the idea of deploying British and French peacekeepers along the front line while Ukraine awaits NATO membership, stating that such funds would be better spent on supplying weapons.

“The estimate for the peacekeeping mission is 40,000 troops. Try to stretch 40,000 troops along a 1,500km front line. It will be a very thin red line,” he explained.

At the same time, the former Ukraine’s foreign minister does not believe that Trump will follow through on his threat to stop military aid to Ukraine. According to him, Trump would be forced to change his stance if Russian troops once again pose a threat to Kyiv.

Kuleba also stated that European politicians are too afraid of their voters to increase defense spending, accusing them of ignoring intelligence reports about the real possibility of war with Russia.

However, he noted that the UK, Germany, and France will have no choice but to continue providing military aid “because they know that if Ukraine falls the war will come to their land.”

“Therefore, whatever the cheque of supporting Ukraine is, the cheque of fighting the war themselves will be much higher,” he added.

Previously, Foreign Affairs has calculated that defeat in Ukraine would require the US to spend $808 billion more on defense over the next five years than it has budgeted.

FA: Ukraine’s defeat would cost US seven times more than current aid

Without US support, Russia is likely to gain ground in 2025 as Ukraine’s weapons supplies dwindle. By 2030, Russia would once again be ready to attack a NATO member state.

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