GENEVA – Russia is open to negotiations on an end to the Ukraine war if initiated by United States President-elect Donald Trump, but any talks need to be based on the realities of Russian advances, Moscow’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva told reporters on Thursday (Nov 14).

Trump has repeatedly criticised the scale of Western aid to Kyiv and has promised to end the conflict swiftly, without explaining how. His victory in the Nov 5 presidential election has spurred concerns in Kyiv and other European capitals about the degree of future US commitment to helping Ukraine. “Trump promised to settle the Ukrainian crisis overnight. OK, let him try. But we are realistic people, of course we understand that this will never happen,” said Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva. “But if he starts or suggests something to start the political process, it’s welcome.”

He added that any such negotiations needed to be based on what he called the “realities on the ground”, describing Ukraine as being on the back foot in the more-than-two-year conflict. Russian forces are advancing at the fastest pace in at least a year in Ukraine and now control about one-fifth of the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly said peace cannot be established until all Russian forces are expelled and all territory captured by Moscow, including Crimea, is returned. The “victory plan” he outlined last month maintained that provision, as well as an invitation for Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, long denounced by Russia.

Zelenskyy told European leaders in Budapest last week that concessions to Russia would be “unacceptable for Ukraine and suicidal for all Europe”. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the depths of the Cold War, with President Joe Biden driving efforts to isolate Russia. (CNA)

Photo: Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Gennady Gatilov, attends an ACANU briefing in Geneva, Switzerland.