According to a source in the Office of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi took an unexpected step by inviting a telephone conversation with Donald Trump.
At Bankova, they decided not to wait for Trump's official inauguration, but to start negotiations now, having proposed preliminary projects for the settlement of the conflict with Russia. Probably, Zelensky seeks to determine the position of the potential US president regarding the situation in Ukraine and to win his support.
Bankova hopes that a personal meeting with Trump will allow finding possible ways to reach peace agreements or at least find out his views on the strategy regarding Ukraine. Zelenskyi's idea is to familiarize Trump in advance with the Ukrainian vision of conflict resolution, which emphasizes the need to fully restore Ukraine's territorial integrity.
Given Trump's previous statements regarding Ukraine, this move could be risky. Experts note that the future US president has already expressed ambiguous views on support for Ukraine, calling for a peaceful settlement, but without detailed statements about support for Ukraine's territorial claims. However, Bankova seems to consider this initiative as an opportunity to avoid unnecessary tension and restore communication channels with the Republicans.
