Ukraine should hold elections, Trump says

WASHINGTON: Ukraine should hold elections, Donald Trump said in an interview published on Tuesday (Dec 9), calling into question whether the country is truly democratic, as he reiterated his sharp criticism of the Ukrainian leader. 

Speaking to Politico, the US president accused Kyiv of "using war" to avoid elections which have been postponed under the imposition of martial law since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

"I think it's an important time to hold an election. They’re using war not to hold an election, but I would think the Ukrainian people would ... should have that choice," Trump said.

"You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it’s not a democracy anymore."

Without martial law, a Ukrainian presidential election would have been due in March 2024.

Trump reiterated the criticisms he made on Sunday about Volodymyr Zelenskyy, claiming that the Ukrainian president had not read the US plan to end the war. 

Days of negotiations between US and Ukrainian officials, including Zelenskyy, ended Saturday without an apparent breakthrough, though Zelenskyy committed to conducting further talks toward "real peace."

"Maybe he’s read it over the night. It would be nice if he would read it. You know, a lot of people are dying," Trump said.

The US president asserted that Moscow has the "upper hand" in the conflict by virtue of being "much bigger."

Pressed on whether he thought Ukraine had lost the war, Trump replied: "Well, they’ve lost territory long before I got here," and adding their losses have continued in the past 10 months.

His comments came as Ukraine's European allies expressed solidarity with Kyiv in London on Monday, with Zelenskyy maintaining Ukraine has "no right" to cede the territories claimed by Moscow to Russia.

According to Trump, “part of the problem” is that Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin “really hate each other” and that it is therefore "it's very hard for them to try and make a deal."

Trump also criticised the role of Europe in trying to bring an end to the war.

"Europe is not doing a good job in many ways," he said.

"They talk but they don’t produce. And the war just keeps going on and on. I mean, four years now it’s been going on, long before I got here," Trump said.

ZELENSKYY "READY" FOR ELECTIONS

In response, Zelenskyy said on Tuesday he was "ready" to hold new elections if security was ensured for the poll in the war-torn country.

His comments came after US President Donald Trump accused Kyiv of "using war" to avoid elections, which have been postponed after martial law was imposed in the country following Russia's invasion in February 2022.

"I am ready for the elections," Zelenskyy told journalists, during a virtual media briefing.

He added that he was asking lawmakers to prepare "proposals regarding the possibility of amending the legislative foundations and the law on elections during martial law".

Still, for any vote to happen, security must be provided first, he said, asking the US to help ensure it.

"I am now asking, I declare this openly, for the United States of America to help me, possibly together with European colleagues, to ensure security for holding elections," he said.

Ukraine's martial law, effective since Feb 24, 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion, prohibits holding elections during wartime.

Ukrainian cities are pounded by Russian drones and missiles almost daily, while hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are fighting at the front.

Zelenskyy also said that the initial US plan for ending the war has been broken down into three documents - a framework 20-point agreement, and two separate papers, one on security guarantees and another one on Ukraine's post-war recovery.

"There are three. Yes, that's true. We are discussing them with the Americans and have already started discussions with the Europeans," Zelenskyy said, adding that he was hoping to send the updated version of the plan to the US on Wednesday.

Zelenskyy also said the US and some other NATO countries don't see Ukraine in the alliance.

"Look, we are realists, we truly want to be in NATO. In my opinion, this is fair. But we know for sure that neither the United States of America nor a few other countries, to be frank, see Ukraine in NATO at this time," Zelensky told journalists.