Volodymyr Zelensky calls for European forces, Donald Trump procrastinates

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Ukrainian president estimated that “at least 200,000 European forces would be needed to guarantee the security of his country” in the event of an agreement with Russia. Donald Trump threatens Moscow with new economic sanctions if Vladimir Putin refuses to discuss.

“It’s time to FIND A DEAL“It is, as is often the case, in capital letters that the new American president calls on his Russian counterpart to sit at the negotiating table, in a message published Wednesday January 22 on his Truth Social network.”Let’s fix this now, and STOP this ridiculous war!“, continues Donald Trump, who assures that he is ready to do “a huge favor to Russia, whose economy is collapsing” by launching peace talks.

A first step by the 47th President of the United States, for whom the Ukrainian issue appears to be the most complex to manage, even though he has comfortable room for maneuver in domestic politics, and negotiations in the Middle East have experienced a significant breakthrough just before his return to the White House.

The time when Donald Trump promised to “settle in 24 hours” the war between Ukraine and Russia is already over. His advisors were already warning at the beginning of January that it would take at least six months to find a solution to the conflict. It was striking to note during his inauguration that the American president did not did not have a single word regarding Ukraine in his speech.

Faced with the possibility of a halt to American aid, Volodymyr Zelensky once again warned the Europeans on Wednesday during his visit to the Davos economic forum. “We all need to understand that Putin does not want to end the war“, he first recalled, before wondering: “Will President Trump even pay attention to Europe?“. Above all, the Ukrainian president spoke publicly for the first time about his country’s security needs, estimating that at least 200,000 European troops should be deployed in the event of a truce with Russia, to avoid a new invasion.

In the United States, the Wall Street Journal claims that Donald Trump assigned Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg as special envoy for Ukraine, with a deadline of 100 days to resolve the conflict. An envoy with no particular experience in diplomacy, but who recently supported Joe Biden’s decision to provide more powerful weapons to Ukraine.

A long-time supporter of Donald Trump, this Vietnam veteran should not overshadow the president, who is scheduled to speak Thursday at the Davos economic forum. He will perhaps clarify his views on the situation, and on the sanctions he is considering for Russia. On Wednesday, he assured that he would not have “no choice but to impose high levels of taxes, tariffs and sanctions on everything Russia sells to the United States and other countries” if Moscow refused to participate in negotiations.