Top Republican members of the House of Representatives say lawmakers have begun discussions about Russia’s war in Ukraine in an effort to carry out President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to quickly end the conflict there.
Lawmakers told VOA’s Ukrainian Service that they are optimistic that Trump can achieve his goal.
Republican Representative Mike Waltz, who was nominated by Trump this week to be his national security adviser, told VOA that “the president has been clear in terms of getting both sides to the table and is focused on ending the war and not perpetuating it.”
Waltz said that while Trump did not address Russia’s war in Ukraine when he gave a speech to lawmakers at their leadership meeting Wednesday, he said discussions about the war were happening “off to the side.” He did not give further details.
Republican Representative Mike Rogers, who serves as the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, was bullish about Trump’s ability to negotiate a cease-fire.
“I expect the president to negotiate an armistice before the end of the year,” he told VOA.
When asked how the United States would pressure Russia to lay down its weapons, he said, “I have an idea what it is but I’m not going to talk about it.”
Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week and urged him not to escalate the war, according to U.S. media outlets, first reported in The Washington Post. The Kremlin denies the call took place.
Republican Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who has been a strong supporter of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, told VOA that Trump wants to have a “very strong military presence in Europe,” part of a “path of deterrence that eventually will get us to a period of negotiation.”
However, he cautioned that he does not believe that Ukraine has enough leverage right now for successful negotiations with Russia.
Russia and Ukraine are engaged in fierce battles in eastern Ukraine, as uncertainty mounts over how a Trump presidency will affect the war and whether the two sides will be pushed into negotiations. Analysts say that both sides are looking to increase their territory before any negotiations take place.
When asked about how the U.S. could pressure Russia to the negotiating table, Republican Representative Tom Cole, who serves as the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, told VOA, “I think you have to persuade them what is in their best interest.”
Cole said he thinks the war has been a disaster for Russia, noting that the conflict pushed Sweden and Finland to join NATO, the Western military alliance formed in 1949 to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
He said talks in the House have not yet led to any definitive plan on the Russia-Ukraine war, but said, “I think there is just hope that President Trump can bring this conflict in Europe — the worst conflict since 1945 — to a speedy end.”
Trump has yet to detail how he will fulfill his campaign pledge to end the war quickly. During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in September, Trump said he “can work out something that’s good for both sides.”
When asked at that time whether Ukraine should turn over some of its own land to Russia to end the war, Trump said, “We’ll see what happens.”
Vice President Kamala Harris said on the campaign trail that suggestions by the Trump camp to create a demilitarized zone between Russia and Ukraine at the current battle lines “are not proposals for peace.”
“Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable,” she said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken assured Ukraine and its NATO allies Wednesday that Washington remains committed to putting Ukraine “in the strongest possible position” in the final months of President Joe Biden’s administration.
“President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and January 20th,” Blinken told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday.
Trump told reporters in September that his plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war is “not a surrender.”
“What my strategy is, is to save lives,” he said.
Kateryna Lisunova contributed to this report.
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