Zelensky says Trump is 'capable of stopping' Putin

Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky called his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, a "decisive" and "unpredictable" person who may be able to stop the Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who ordered the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In an interview with Ukrainian television broadcast Thursday, Zelensky said, "Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing."

"His qualities are indeed there," Zelensky added about the president-elect. "He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin. He is able to do this."

"He's very strong and unpredictable, and I would really like to see President Trump's unpredictability apply to Russia. I believe he really wants to end the war," Zelensky added. He further assured that, so far, "there have been no negative moments" with Trump, with whom he met and spoke on different occasions.

While many Trump critics claimed that a presidency of his was good news for Putin, so far, the president-elect has been clear in stating that he will not abandon Ukraine because it is the only way to end the war.

"I want to reach an agreement, and the only way you’re going to reach an agreement is not to abandon," Trump said in an interview with Time magazine.

During the interview, the Ukrainian leader also said that he supports the idea of France deploying peacekeepers in Ukraine to secure a potential peace deal with Russia if it comes to pass. However, he also said that this move would have to be a step in itself for Ukraine's accession to the NATO military alliance.

"We support this initiative, but France alone is not enough. We would not want it to be one or two countries if it comes to this initiative. It should definitely be on the way to NATO," Zelensky concluded.