Collaborating with Prez Trump's team in resolving conflict with Russia, says Zelensky

by IANS |

Kyiv, Feb 16 (IANS) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that we have begun collaborating with US President Donald Trump’s team and are seeing progress towards achieving peace and stopping the war with Russia.

"We have begun working with President Trump’s team and can already see that success is attainable. Right now, the world is looking up to America as the power that has the ability to not only stop the war but also help ensure the reliability of peace afterward. Ahead of the Munich Security Conference, I had a good call with the President of the US, as well as a substantive meeting with Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Rubio,” Zelensky posted on X.

“We are also expecting General Kellogg to visit Ukraine soon to further assess the situation and explore pathways to President Trump’s strong solutions, which can be truly peacemaking. Our teams are working throughly and in detail on a special agreement between our countries — one that will certainly strengthen both America and Ukraine. We are committed to making it a real success, exactly as we agreed," Zelensky added.

Earlier, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, he said, “I hope that we can count that, really, President Trump will help us. I really count on him because he is the president of the US."

However, according to media reports, Zelensky also warned of guaranteed US support for Europe are over. While delivering the speech he cautioned, “The old days are over – when America supported Europe just because it always had.”

In a separate development, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday held telephonic conversation and discussed on a range of issues, including the planned meeting between President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump.

According to media reports, Lavrov and Rubio agreed to maintain a channel of communication to resolve accumulated problems in US-Russian relations "for removing unilateral barriers, inherited from the previous administration, to mutually beneficial trade, economic and investment cooperation," stated the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The much anticipated Ukraine peace talks between Trump and Putin are expected to be held in Saudi Arabia soon.