Russia celebrates after Trump-Zelensky meeting – ‘He wants to destroy Europe’ | World | News
Russia believes Donald Trump wants to “destroy Europe” as the President has sparked criticism for the way he has handled peace talks with Ukraine.
Moscow media praises Trump’s attitude, and Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper says: “America no longer sees our country as a threat. The threat is now a militaristic Europe.”
“The US leader’s philosophy is closer to the values of the Russian president, not the Old World politicians… he understands that a conflict between two nuclear powers means Armageddon.
“He sees Europe as a liberal bastion that must be destroyed to Make America Great Again.”
The same newspaper said Zelensky was “the illegitimate president of Ukraine.”
Reports translated BBC Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg.
Ukrainian President Zelensky said on Monday that the United States has offered Ukraine security guarantees for a period of 15 years as part of its proposed peace plan, but he would prefer America to make a commitment of up to 50 years to deter Russia from attempts to seize its neighbor’s territory by force.
US President Trump hosted Zelensky at his Florida resort on Sunday and insisted Ukraine and Russia were “closer than ever” to a peace deal.
But negotiators are still seeking a breakthrough on key issues, including whose forces are withdrawing from Ukraine and the fate of Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one of the world’s 10 largest nuclear power plants. Trump noted that months-long US-led negotiations could still collapse.
“Without security guarantees, realistically, this war will not end,” Zelenskyy said in a voicemail response to questions sent to journalists via WhatsApp chat.
Ukraine has been at war with Russia since 2014, when it illegally annexed Crimea and Moscow-backed separatists took up arms in Donbas, a vital industrial region of eastern Ukraine.
Details of the security guarantees have not been made public, but Zelenskyy said on Monday that they include how the peace deal will be monitored, as well as the “presence” of partners. He did not provide detailed information on the issue, but Russia said that it would not accept the deployment of soldiers from NATO countries to Ukraine.
While indications suggest that talks could come to a head in January, ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on Monday that Russian troops were advancing in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and also continuing their offensive in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.
As Ukrainian forces struggled to hold back the massive Russian army, Putin sought to portray himself as negotiating from a position of strength.
He also emphasized the need to establish military buffer zones along the Russian border in his meeting with senior officers.
“This is a very important mission because it ensures the security of Russia’s border regions,” he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Putin and Trump are expected to meet in the near future, but there is no indication that the Russian leader will meet with Zelenskyy.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Kiev’s allies will meet in Paris in early January to finalize concrete contributions to each country’s security guarantees.
According to Zelenskyy, Trump said he would consider extending US security guarantees to Ukraine beyond 15 years. He said the guarantees would be approved by the U.S. Congress as well as the parliaments of other countries that oversee any solution.
Zelenskyy said that he wanted the 20-point peace plan discussed to be approved by Ukrainians in a national referendum.
However, a ceasefire of at least 60 days is required before the vote can be held, and Moscow has not shown any willingness for a ceasefire without a full solution.
