Trump gives Zelenskyy two key pieces of advice

US President-elect Donald Trump has sent a message to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, urging him to start considering a ceasefire and giving up occupied territories.

"It's nice to say they want their land back, but the cities are mostly destroyed. You look at some of these cities, and there's not a single house left standing. So when you say 'return the country'... Return what? This is a 110-year reconstruction," Trump said, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

However, according to several European sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, the signals sent by Trump are not seen as negative. Trump vowed to end the war within 24 hours. While he didn't specify how he would achieve this, his public statements were not particularly reassuring.

 After meeting with President Zelenskyy in Paris on December 7, and amid the collapse of Bashar Assad's regime in Syria, Trump expressed Ukraine's desire to reach an agreement to end the war, calling for an immediate ceasefire and the initiation of negotiations.

President Zelenskyy emphasised that no world leader has the right to negotiate the end of the war with Russian President Vladimir Putin without Ukraine’s involvement.

By Naila Huseynova