Nadya Prishlyak14:45, 13.02.25

The head of the Verkhovna Rada committee, Merezhko, is alarmed by the fact that there are people in Trump’s circle who want to ensure peace with Russia at the expense of Ukraine’s interests.

Today, there are alarming signals regarding the position of US President Donald Trump in negotiations with Russia . This was stated by the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation Oleksandr Merezhko (the Servant of the People faction) at a briefing.

He noted that he is skeptical about the possibility of negotiations. “Putin does not want them. He is fixated on destroying Ukraine. Trump is unlikely to be able to convince Putin to change his position. There is a political game going on now,” the deputy emphasized.

According to him, to start negotiations, common positions on some issues are needed, but there are none. At the same time, he added that today the interests of the parties that must conduct negotiations are diametrically opposed.

He noted that there are “worrying notes” regarding the possible position of US President Donald Trump in the negotiations.

“There are people in his circle who believe that the issue of peace should be resolved as soon as possible, even at the expense of Ukraine, saying that the issue of Ukraine is not a security issue for the United States. This is a very wrong approach, because we are talking about security issues for Europe and the United States. Now Ukrainian diplomacy must convince Trump to take a more realistic approach to this issue,” Merezhko emphasized.

The head of the parliamentary committee also criticized the statements of the new US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that returning Ukraine’s borders to the state they were in 2014 is an unrealistic goal.

“These are illogical statements. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have proven their worth, and part of the Russian Federation is under Ukraine’s control,” he emphasized. At the same time, he emphasized that the United States should have strengthened sanctions against Russia.

The MP also noted that Putin could promote very dangerous narratives through Trump’s team aimed at undermining Ukraine’s internal stability, in particular, about holding elections during a war.

Merezhko believes that Trump’s statements about the impossibility of Ukraine joining NATO were not categorical.

“Trump was not categorical. If we are talking about some kind of negotiations, which is very doubtful, then it is important that the issue of Ukraine’s membership in NATO is not on the negotiating table with Putin at all, because it is not his business and he has nothing to dictate to Ukraine,” Merezhko emphasized.

According to him, Trump also speaks about the high probability that Ukraine will be forced to cede territory.

“But this is not possible, we cannot cede territory. If we reward the aggressor and do not punish for the crime committed, then this destroys the international legal order,” he emphasized. At the same time, he noted that this is not beneficial to Ukraine, Europe, or the United States.

(C)UNIAN 2025