A senior US State Department source stated on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to negotiate peace in Ukraine until he learns the outcome of the US election in November 2024. This comes amid worries that a win by Donald Trump, the previous president, could derail Western backing for Kyiv.
The front-runner for the Republicans presidential nomination, Trump, who is up for reelection in 2024, has been extremely critical of US assistance for Kyiv.
Following a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, a top official briefed media on the alliance’s continued support for Ukraine, despite the likelihood of a peace deal in the coming year.
Speaking on the meeting’s outcomes, the official added, “My assumption is that Putin won’t make an agreement or an important peace until he sees the outcome of our election.”
When asked if they were representing the US government’s position or their own, the official responded that it was a “widely shared premise.”
Without specifically addressing Trump or indicating how the outcome of the election would impact support for Ukraine, the source continued, “That was the setting in which allies all expressed their full backing for Ukraine” during the NATO conference on Tuesday.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, US President Joe Biden, a member of the Democratic Party, has provided Kyiv with significant military aid and other support; but, the Republican-led House of Representatives is preventing further funding for Ukraine.
Earlier this month, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine extended an invitation to President Trump, who has declared he could put an end to the war in a day if reelected, so he could personally assess the scope of the fighting.