After U.S.-Russia Talks in Saudi Arabia,
"Ukraine Must Hold a Presidential Election"
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to cause a stir after making remarks suggesting that a regime change is necessary in Ukraine.
On the 18th (local time), President Trump, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, said, "There were no elections held in Ukraine, and martial law is effectively declared," adding, "The approval rating of the Ukrainian leader is only 4%. The country is shattered." He also criticized Ukraine's strong dissatisfaction over being excluded from negotiations, saying, "If you want to sit at this table (negotiation table), shouldn't you first acknowledge that there have been no elections for a long time?"
Responding to a question about "reports that Russia wants Ukraine's presidential election to take place to conclude a peace agreement," President Trump said, "This is not only what Russia has raised but also what I and other countries are saying," reaffirming that Ukraine needs to hold an election.
Following the report of President Trump's remarks, Ukrainian media issued rebuttals. In particular, regarding Trump's claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's approval rating is only 4%, the Kyiv Independent called it an unfounded assertion and cited the latest poll results from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. According to this institute's telephone survey conducted in December last year with 2,000 Ukrainian citizens, the approval rating for President Zelensky's governance was 52%, a significant difference from the 4% figure stated by Trump.
The British daily The Telegraph, reporting on Trump's remarks, criticized them by saying, "They raise concerns that Russia will use elections to oust Ukraine's wartime leader and install a pro-Putin figure."
The implication that President Zelensky, who lacks popular support, should be replaced through elections is similar to claims Russia has made. Russia is known to have sought to remove Zelensky, who has led the war effort, and establish a pro-Russian regime in Ukraine.
President Zelensky, a famous Ukrainian comedian, won the presidency for a five-year term in the 2019 election. However, with the outbreak of war and the declaration of martial law, Ukraine is currently governed under a wartime cabinet system. Under normal circumstances, an election should have been held in March last year, but the election was postponed due to the wartime system, extending his term.
Since then, Russia has continued to claim that President Zelensky usurped state power by canceling the election. Russia argues that when the two countries sign agreements such as a ceasefire, the counterpart must be a legitimate president, which they claim Zelensky is not.
In an interview with the British daily The Sun at the end of 2023, President Zelensky said that Russia is trying to remove him from power and referred to Russia's operation name as "Maidan 3." Maidan refers to the large-scale anti-government protests that began in November 2013 at Independence Square (Maidan) in Kyiv, Ukraine. Known as the "Euromaidan Revolution," these protests led to the ousting of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who had pursued a pro-Russian policy in Ukraine.
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