President-Elect Donald Trump has already hit the ground running, as a recent report has found his transition team is working on addressing the war in Ukraine and in Gaza.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump’s team is considering a proposal that would establish an 800-mile demilitarized zone in Ukraine, with assurances in return that it would not join NATO for at least two decades.
As for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, NPR reported that "Netanyahu, who met and spoke with Trump during his campaign, had been hoping for him to win and will likely take steps to end the wars in Gaza and Lebanon as a gesture to the incoming president, an Israeli official told NPR, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations."
In both wars, Trump has been a major critic of how President Joe Biden has handled them as Ukraine has been fighting off a Russian invasion for almost three years and thousands of civilians -- women and children -- have been killed in Gaza for the last year.
Now, President-Elect Trump appears to be projecting the country may step away from Biden’s position to arm Kyiv “as long as it takes.”
While the report suggests that Trump’s team is considering the demilitarized zone in Ukraine as a possible solution to the war, it’s not clear yet what route he would take in trying to stop Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine. Reports have, though indicated that he's stayed in touch with Vladimir Putin while out of office.
About both wars, Trump said many times on the campaign trail that they never would have begun under his leadership.
During his campaign, a research paper was also written by two of Trump’s former national security chiefs addressing possible solutions to the war in Ukraine. The paper suggested that the U.S. continue to supply weapons to Ukraine, but under the condition that Kyiv sits down with Russia for peace talks.
To entice Russia to come to the table, Trump and other western leaders would have to promise to delay Ukraine’s entry into NATO, per the paper, despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pushing for his country to be accepted into the alliance.
The paper also suggested that Ukraine may see its land released from Russian occupation, but that negotiations would have to start with where lines are now. In the Middle East, Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told NPR Trump’s election is a “private matter for the Americans” but said Palestinians look forward to an “immediate” end to the Gaza war.
Nonetheless, Trump has yet to make it clear which way he will go in addressing the war in Ukraine or Gaza, despite vowing on the campaign trail to solve both crises in a single day.
Following his victory on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Zelensky congratulated Trump while praising his vow to “stop wars” in his victory speech.
“Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump on his impressive election victory!” Zelensky wrote on X. “We look forward to an era of a strong United States of America under President Trump’s decisive leadership.”
“Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback!” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted, joining the throng of international voices.
Zelensky said he spoke with Trump in September to outline his “Victory Plan” in the war against Russia. The Ukrainian leader said he hopes Trump’s “peace through strength” approach will be enough to stop Moscow’s war against his country.