A Ukrainian MP has expressed major concerns following the US President’s announcement on Wednesday.
Oleksiy Goncharenko said he fears the possibility of Donald Trump visiting Vladimir Putin in Moscow would “embolden” the Russian President and other “dictators” in the world.
He told Sky News that for the US leader to visit Moscow would send the wrong message. He said: “The lesson should be – you can’t act like Russia acts because if you can, that would be a disaster for everybody.”
Trump has spoken to Putin about ending the war over the phone earlier this week, and said in a post on Truth Social he hopes they “will be visiting each other’s nations”.
Mr Goncharenko described Putin as a “criminal and a tyrant” and a threat to the West.
He told Sky’s Mark Austin: “I really think to go to Moscow is not the best idea. It’s up to Donald Trump to decide what he will do.
“Sometimes you need to speak to criminals, that can happen, [but] that doesn’t mean you should hug criminals.”
Mr Goncharenko said the talks had brought Putin back from isolation from the rest of the world but admitted there is little choice.
He said he believes Putin is “emboldened” after the call and it would be a “disaster for the whole world” if Ukraine were to fall, warning of grave consequences.
Mr Goncharenko said: “We want peace and we want peace more than anybody else in the world, we are dying every day but we want real peace not a ceasefire.
“We don’t want what’s happening now in Ukraine to become just the beginning of a huge World War 3 and unfortunately I see big chances for this. And I don’t think the right way is to embolden people like Putin.”
He said he has no other choice but to trust the Trump administration.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will sit down with US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference on Friday.
The talks are expected to centre on the US’ continued push to end the conflict, which started almost three years ago following Russia’s full-scale invasion.
