Bridging to Trump: How Kyiv can establish connections with the new U.S. administration.

President Zelensky asserts that Ukraine has a strong chance of ending the war within the next year, with proposals from the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump likely to be revealed as early as January. The head of state made this statement while speaking at the international conference Grain from Ukraine on Saturday, November 23. He also noted that his direct meeting with Trump depends on various factors: "I don't know when the meetings will happen; I have no data, the teams are working. It depends on many things, not just on schedules but also on the legitimacy of the respective meetings. If we want meetings that address certain issues... these legislative opportunities will arise after the inauguration. If we have some meetings prepared, they could happen even before the inauguration."

The current occupant of Bankova emphasized that before his new rendezvous with Trump, it is crucial not to allow "certain waves or environments to create a rift between the President of Ukraine and the President of the United States." "This is very important because there are many who wish for it," Zelensky concluded.

Meanwhile, there are several individuals eager to meet with Mr. Trump face-to-face before the inauguration, which, as a reminder, is set for January 20, 2025. Recently, the newly appointed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte had a meeting with the elected American leader and his close circle. The parties did not provide substantive comments on the matter, limiting themselves to a photo showing a beaming Trump and Rutte.

The NATO press release also noted that the Secretary-General managed to meet with "the elected president's national security team" and Congressman Mike Waltz, whom Donald Trump selected as an advisor on such matters. The Alliance remained silent on how these negotiations went. However, Mr. Waltz, not yet overwhelmed by media attention, did not hold back from commenting on social media X. "A strong NATO that restores deterrence and peace requires all member countries to contribute in proportion to their economic power," he wrote, accompanying the post with the same photograph of smiling Messrs. Trump and Rutte.

The Washington Post, prior to the negotiations, cited sources stating that the discussion of Ukraine was one of the main objectives of Mark Rutte's trip to Trump's villa in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The NATO Secretary-General aimed to convince the newly elected president, who promised to quickly resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, that it is in his interest not just to stop hostilities but to achieve "a just and lasting peace." According to one of the publication's sources, Mark Rutte wanted to convey to Donald Trump that the conflict should be resolved in a way that "does not haunt him throughout his presidency."

It is worth noting that the current Secretary-General of the Alliance, even while serving as Prime Minister of the Netherlands during the first presidential term of the Republican, was considered one of the few European politicians capable of finding common ground with him. Furthermore, after taking office as NATO chief in October 2024, he supported Trump's demand for allies to increase defense spending. According to The Washington Post, Mr. Rutte recently urged European leaders "not to gossip about Trump" but rather "to call him and secure his support."

In this context, a few days ago, Donald Trump nominated his long-time supporter, former Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, for the position of U.S. Ambassador to NATO. The elected President of the United States assured that his appointee "will strengthen U.S. relations with NATO allies and will be firm in the face of threats to peace and stability, putting 'America first'."

The meeting between Trump and Rutte is already a significant event ahead of Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office, as during his first presidential term, he demanded European governments increase their defense spending, threatening to withdraw U.S. protection if they did not comply and even to exit NATO. Meanwhile, the meeting between the NATO Secretary-General and the newly elected U.S. President may indicate that there are currently no real or radical intentions regarding the North Atlantic Alliance from Donald Trump. Reports from Western media suggest that Trump and Rutte discussed not only the nature of the negotiations to end the Russian-Ukrainian war but also the very likelihood of such negotiations.

By the way, Trump is currently continuing to search for a candidate to become the special representative for negotiations aimed at ending the Russian-Ukrainian war. Previously, several names were mentioned, including U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, as well as Trump's lawyer, Boris Epstein, who was born in Russia. However, the latest name that appeared in the media is Richard Grenell, the former head of intelligence during Trump's first presidency.

"The fact that Trump is looking for someone who could initiate Russian-Ukrainian negotiations at least indicates a certain degree of realism on the part of the new American president, in that he already realizes that the war will not end with mere phone calls between Zelensky and Putin. He understands that the U.S. president's representative will have to do the hard work not just to align the parties' positions but at least to ascertain what those real positions are. And of course, such difficult work could stretch over years, and perhaps, the most likely scenario is that it could last throughout Donald Trump's term as President of the United States," notes well-known international journalist Vitaly Portnikov on his authorial YouTube channel.

As Reuters reports, the Republican "is indeed ready" to nominate Richard Grenell for the specially created position of envoy for conflict resolution, and if appointed, he is expected to play a "key role" in this process. Grenell is described by agency sources as "an experienced diplomat." During Trump's first presidential term, he was the U.S. ambassador to Germany, and in 2020 he represented Washington at peace negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo. Meanwhile, in Ukraine, Grenell proposed creating "autonomous zones" and opposed Kyiv's accession to NATO.

In this context, it should be noted that after winning the election, Donald Trump has put forward candidates for more than 40 different positions. More than half of them require Senate approval. Amid a scandal, Matt Gaetz withdrew his candidacy for Attorney General, which Trump had favored. However, the former Florida congressman was accused of sexual relations with a minor. Allegations of harassment have also emerged against the candidate for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Disputes also arose around Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was nominated for Secretary of Health. The politician publicly opposed the use of vaccines and accused the CIA of the death of his uncle John Kennedy.

Meanwhile, The Washington Post (WP) reports on conflicts within Donald Trump's team. Disagreements have led to quarrels, expulsions from meetings, and personal attacks, sources told the publication. Examples include conflicts involving Trump's advisor Boris Epstein and Elon Musk. According to WP, Howard Latnik, nominated for the position of Secretary of Commerce, refused to allow Boris Epstein to attend a meeting at the residence in Mar-a-Lago. Two sources from the newspaper claim that Trump's advisor pushed Mr. Latnik. During another incident, the newspaper reports, Musk got into a verbal altercation with Epstein. One of the campaign's leaders, Susan Wiles, reportedly acted as a "regulator" at several meetings and demanded that those "not welcomed" leave the meetings.

As political scientist Viktor Nebozhenko noted in a conversation with Lenta.UA, "the key drawback of Trump's team is its absolute disunity": "For instance, right now, they are discussing the candidacy of Tulsi Gabbard, who may head the U.S. National Intelligence, the new Secretary of Defense... They are so different that they should perform together somewhere on stage or, at best, sit in Congress. But a functioning governing team from all these characters will definitely not emerge."

In a situation where qualifications take a backseat while loyalty to the president is prioritized, the expert notes, "such a team typically fails spectacularly on fundamental issues." "It should be understood that people in Trump's entourage, who previously said a lot, both good and bad, about Ukraine, bore no responsibility for it. However, after their appointments, they will simply have to change their opinions based on the shifting thoughts and visions of Trump himself," the political scientist emphasizes. Viktor Nebozhenko is convinced that the positions of anyone in Mr. Trump's team on the issues of the Russian-Ukrainian war will correlate with the will of the President of the United States.

At the same time, political scientist Alexander Kochetkov draws attention to another extremely important aspect of future relations between Kyiv and Washington: "As our indispensable top managers would express it, 'a negative trend is being fixed on the foreign policy track.' Specifically, those around Donald Trump are starting to laugh at President Volodymyr Zelensky. Not to criticize, but to laugh. This is systematically done by the son of the elected U.S. president, Trump Jr., Elon Musk, journalist Tucker Carlson, and other less prominent figures. This is bad. Because this is not just some rudeness from those close to Trump, but a conscious position that risks becoming an unofficial norm. This is beneficial to Trump because a person who is not respected and is made a laughingstock can easily be denied even the most necessary support or forced into the most humiliating position. And then, they might even write somewhere on social media X: 'I asked, but did not receive. The democratic freebies are over.'

Calling the situation absolutely unacceptable, the expert emphasized that it must be corrected immediately and that Ukraine should become for Trump "not an annoying supplicant, but a junior partner in his plans."