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Akbar Novruz

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy poured cold water Thursday on a plan by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to strike a rapid peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, arguing it would amount to a “loss” for Ukraine, Azernews reports.

“I believe that President Trump really wants a quick decision” to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, Zelenskyy told journalists in Budapest. “He wants that. It doesn’t mean that it will happen this way.”

Trump, who was reelected U.S. president this week, said in 2023 that he would seek a quick deal to end the war, asserting: “I’ll have that done in 24 hours” after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy. He repeated the claim several times on the campaign trail.

Speaking to journalists in Budapest where he was attending a gathering of European leaders, Zelenskyy said that while Ukraine sought a “fair” end to the war, rushing into a cease-fire or a peace deal with Moscow would lead to a bad outcome for Kyiv.

“He [Trump] wants this war to be finished,” Zelenskyy said through an interpreter. “We all want to end this war, but a fair ending ... If it is very fast, it’s going to be a loss for Ukraine.”

The Ukrainian leader also warned that unless his country’s Western backers ramped up the pressure over North Korea’s participation in the war, more North Korean troops would be sent to the battlefield.