Trump vows to toughen stance on Putin over Ukraine conflict
President-elect Donald Trump has already begun discussions with Western leaders about ending the war in Ukraine. He informed them that he intends to put pressure on the Russian leader, not just on Ukraine, reports Bloomberg.
1:52 PM EST, November 8, 2024
According to Bloomberg, Trump has initiated his first phone calls with European leaders. In one of these calls, his potential approach to negotiations with Putin was discussed.
Trump plans to pressure Putin
A senior official who spoke with the agency said, Trump indicated that he understands he cannot merely pressure Ukraine to make concessions to Putin without receiving something in return. Bloomberg reached out to Trump's spokesperson for a comment on these statements.
Orban on funding the "lost war"
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, host of the summit and Trump's biggest supporter in Europe, stated that it remains an "open question" whether the US and the EU will implement the latest aid package worth 53.5 billion dollars.
In a radio interview on Friday, Orban mentioned that Europe cannot finance the "lost" war on its own and suggested that the US might withdraw its support. However, it is important to note that Orban opposes aid for Kyiv and has close ties with Putin.
The European Union is considering a "Plan B"
European Union leaders are assessing whether they can sustain Ukraine's war efforts if Donald Trump decides to cut US support. During a meeting in Budapest on Thursday, discussions centered on whether the EU would be ready to bear the war's costs. There is concern that Trump might want to shift the financial burden to Europe, although so far, there are no signs of drastic changes.
Some European leaders believe that Europe should wait until Trump's inauguration in January to understand his intentions regarding Ukraine. However, others argue that the EU cannot afford such a luxury, and the European Commission should already be developing action proposals in case of a US aid cutoff.
According to some European officials, the issue is not the funds themselves but the availability of military resources, which largely came from the US. The United States provided Ukraine with essential weapons, such as F-16s and long-range ATACMS missiles, allowing attacks on Russian targets behind front lines. American production capacity is also crucial for ensuring supplies of 155 mm shells, which form the backbone of Ukraine's defensive operations.
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to European leaders to maintain weapon supplies and avoid discussing a ceasefire or concessions to Putin.
" If we talk about the possibility of peace today, it's because the Ukrainians had extraordinary courage and because the West supported Ukraine," said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during the second day of talks on Friday. The EU was the largest supplier of aid to Ukraine. The total value of the support exceeded 128 billion dollars.
