Negotiations over the war in Ukraine could start 'in the winter,' Poland's leader Tusk says

WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday that negotiations over the war in neighboring Ukraine could start “in the winter,” as his country prepares to take over the rotating presidency of the European Union on Jan. 1.

“Our presidency (in the European Union) will have, among others, joint responsibility for the shape of the political landscape, for what the situation will look like probably during the negotiations that, perhaps — there are still question marks here — will begin in the winter of this year,” Tusk told his Cabinet.

He said he hoped that the “end effect” of Poland's and the EU's efforts will be peace in Ukraine. He offered no details of the efforts or any time frame.

Poland has been one of Ukraine's strongest backers against Russia's full-scale invasion that began in February 2022. It will assume the EU presidency just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in the U.S.

Trump has been pushing for an end to the war in Ukraine and during his campaign said he could settle the matter in a day if he were elected.

In a television interview that aired Sunday, Trump also said he would be open to reducing military aid to Ukraine and pulling the United States out of NATO. Those are two threats that have alarmed Ukraine, NATO allies and many in the U.S. national security community.

Tusk said he will be holding numerous meetings with political leaders concerning the situation relating to the war in Ukraine.

Later Tuesday he was meeting with Friedrich Merz, the head of Germany's CDU party, who was returning from talks in Kyiv with the Ukrainian government.

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected in Warsaw on Thursday and Tusk said they will talk about meetings Macron held with Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.