The United States wants Ukraine to hold elections, possibly by the end of the year, especially if Kiev agrees in a truce with Russia in the coming months, Keith Kloge, a special envoy to Ukraine, told Reuters.

Keith Klogk said in an interview that the Ukrainian presidential and parliamentary elections, which were suspended during the war with Russia, “must be held”.

“Most democratic states have held elections in times of war. I think it’s important to do it,” Kalogk said. “I think it’s good for democracy. This is the beauty of a stable democracy, there are more than one people who may be candidates.”

Trump and Klogk have both said that they are working out a plan to mediate a deal in the first months of the new government to end the total war that erupted with Russia’s large -scale invasion in February 2022.

They have, however, given a few details about their strategy for ending the most deadly conflict in Europe since World War II.

The Trump Plan is being considered and no policy decisions have been taken, but Klogg and other White House officials have discussed in recent days to press Ukraine to agree in elections as part of an initial truce with Russia, Reuters said.

Trump officials are also discussing whether they will push for an initial ceasefire before they try to mediate a more permanent deal, sources told Reuters. If the presidential election in Ukraine were held, the winner would be responsible for negotiating a longer -term agreement with Moscow, they are underpinning.

It is not clear how Kiev will perceive such a proposal. President Volodimir Zelenski said Ukraine could hold elections this year if the battles are over and there are strong security guarantees to prevent Russia from the reopening of hostilities.

A senior Kiev consultant and a source of the Ukrainian government said the Trump government has not yet officially asked Ukraine to hold presidential elections by the end of the year.

Zelenski’s five -year term expired in 2024, but the presidential and parliamentary elections cannot be held under the military law imposed by Ukraine in February 2022.

Washington raised the issue of elections with senior officials at the Zelenski office in 2023 and 2024 during the Biden government, two former US officials said.

State Department and White House officials told their Ukrainian counterparts that the elections were critical to adhering to international and democratic rules, officials said.

Putin’s role

Asked about the issue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We don’t have this information.”

It is noted that Putin has publicly stated that he does not believe that Zelensky is a legal leader in the absence of a renewed election order and that the Ukrainian president does not have the legal right to sign binding documents related to a possible peace agreement.

According to the Russian leader, however, Zelenski could take part in the negotiations in the meantime, but must first recall a 2022 decree he signed to ban talks with Russia for as long as Putin is in charge.

The Ukrainian government source said that Putin is using the electoral issue as a false excuse to disrupt future negotiations.

“(He) sets up a trap, claiming that if Ukraine does not hold elections, it can later ignore any agreements,” the source said.

If Donald Trump, in the event of his re -election, pressures Zelenski to go to elections, the US is at risk of being “aligned” indirectly with Russian rhetoric, which challenges the legitimacy of the Ukrainian president. “Russia wants to see the end of Zelenski,” the former official said, suggesting that such a move could serve Moscow’s interests.

Despite the Kremlin’s statements that Vladimir Putin is open to negotiations without conditions, the West appears cautious. Former US ambassador to Ukraine, William Taylor, stressed that the Russian leader has not shown a real willingness to serious talks.