Russia’s UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia on Monday denied former President Trump’s frequent claims that he could end the Ukraine war in a day if re-elected.
“The Ukraine crisis cannot be resolved in a day,” Nebenzia said. Said When asked about President Trump’s pledge at a press conference, he replied, “That’s an objective thing.”
Trump has often boasted about his negotiating skills, suggesting he could negotiate an end to foreign crises such as Russia’s war in Ukraine, but has not offered details of his plans.
“If it’s not resolved, I will resolve it with President Zelensky and President Putin within 24 hours,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity in March, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“And it could very easily be negotiated. But I don’t want to say what it is, because then I wouldn’t have access to it. It’ll never work. But it could very easily be negotiated. I would solve it in one day, bring peace between the two countries. That’s a year and a half. That’s a long time. I can’t imagine nothing happening,” Trump added.
Trump made similar remarks two months later, in May 2023, during a CNN town hall meeting.
“Russians and Ukrainians are dying. I want to stop them dying. And I will make it happen within 24 hours,” Trump said, adding that the solution would be announced after his initial meetings with Zelensky and Putin.
Nebenzia detailed some of the complexities of the negotiating process in responses to reporters on Monday. He suggested there is an opportunity to end the fighting in April 2022, but blamed Western allies for blocking an agreement. He also mocked an 80-nation summit in Switzerland last month in which they said Ukraine’s “territorial integrity” must be the basis of any peace agreement.
Putin offered a ceasefire and the start of negotiations in June in exchange for Ukraine withdrawing from some of its territory seized by Russia at the start of its invasion and abandoning plans to join NATO. Zelenskiy has said he cannot give up the territory.
A spokesperson for Trump responded to Nebenzia’s comments in a statement to The Hill, saying, “President Trump is the most skilled politician and negotiator in history, and if elected, he will resolve this conflict.”
