Tymoshenko and Poroshenko confirm talks with Trump's team and share details

Petro Poroshenko and Yuliia Tymoshenko. Collage: Slovo ta Dilo

Politico reports that four high-ranking representatives of US President Donald Trump's entourage have held talks with Petro Poroshenko and Yuliia Tymoshenko. Politicians have already reacted to this.

The publication cites unnamed Ukrainian MPs and a US foreign policy expert from the Republican Party.

It is noted that the talks were held with Yuliia Tymoshenko, MP, former prime minister and leader of «Batkivshchyna», and Petro Poroshenko, the fifth president of Ukraine and leader of the «European Solidarity» party. According to the publication, they discussed the upcoming presidential election.

It is stated that both Yuliia Tymoshenko and Petro Poroshenko publicly opposed holding elections before the end of the war. However, according to the journalists' interlocutor, their people position themselves «as those with whom it will be easier to work» and «as those who will agree to many things that Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not agree to».

Afterwards, Petro Poroshenko and Yuliia Tymoshenko reacted to the information about the talks. They confirmed the information that they had talked to the US President's team

Screenshots from the politicians' Facebook pages

Screenshots from politicians' Facebook pages

The leader of «Batkivshchyna» agreed with the words of Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine «is ready for negotiations to end the war under the strong leadership of President Trump».

«The team of «Batkivshchyna» is negotiating with all our allies who are able to help in ensuring a just peace as soon as possible. Until then, and I have said this more than once, holding any elections in Ukraine is out of the question», she added.

In turn, the leader of the «EU» parties, Petro Poroshenko, noted that the essence of conversations with representatives of the American side has always boiled down to two principles: «security and peace through strength» and «freedom and democracy». According to him, he has always been and is categorically against elections during the war, and accused the current government of «unconstitutional sanctions».

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«We have said and continue to say that elections are possible after a ceasefire and the signing of a peace agreement with security guarantees for Ukraine. After that, martial law will obviously end. And no later than 180 days later, free, democratic elections should be held in the country to ensure the expression of the will of the citizens and the trust of the free world. Our key task today is to protect Ukraine's interests. This is the task of every Ukrainian politician, regardless of their affiliation with the government or the opposition,» Petro Poroshenko wrote .

As a reminder, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that presidential and parliamentary elections can only take place after the hot stage of the war is over and provided that Ukraine has a strong position. Zelenskyy stressed that elections during martial law are impossible under the Constitution. This would require a change in legislation, which is also impossible during martial law.

It is also worth noting that amid discussions of possible elections in Ukraine, political forces are actively preparing for the campaign. In particular, the presidential party «Servant of the People» is considering rebranding.

Ukraine is also studying European models of electoral legislation, as well as electronic voting. It may be introduced in the country after the war with Russia is over.

It should be noted that an earlier poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology showed that the vast majority of Ukrainians (69%) believe that Volodymyr Zelenskyy should remain in office until the end of martial law.