The Kremlin said Wednesday that it hopes U.S. President Donald Trump will remain committed to helping broker an end to the war in Ukraine despite the crushing defeat that his Republican party faced in the midterm elections.
“President Trump will continue his term, and we sincerely count on him continuing his peacemaking efforts,” top spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a state media reporter.
Asked whether a Democratic-held Congress would hinder U.S.-led diplomatic efforts on the war in Ukraine, Peskov stressed that the outcome of the midterm elections is “America’s internal matter.”
“There are ongoing developments, and very soon there will be another round of trilateral negotiations, as well as Melania Trump’s successful peacemaking and humanitarian efforts. We hope all of this will continue,” Peskov said.
Democrats captured majorities in both the Senate and House on Tuesday as U.S. voters delivered a devastating rebuke to Trump’s policies during his second term in office, including costly tariffs, mass deportations and the highly unpopular war against Iran.
The incoming Democratic majority is likely to put pressure on Trump and his foreign policy endeavours, especially with an anticipated flurry of war powers resolutions designed to end the Middle East conflict, though the immediate implications of the “blue wave” for U.S. policy on Russia and the Ukraine war remain unclear.
White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are expected to fly to Abu Dhabi next week to mediate a new round of peace negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
Trump, who vowed to end the war on day one of his presidency, has so far struggled to broker a peace deal between the warring countries.
In recent weeks, the American leader has leveled increasingly harsh criticism at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky while claiming Russian President Vladimir Putin is interested in signing an agreement.
While U.S. negotiators are looking to broker a settlement to the war before the end of the year — something they had also hoped to do last year — Ukraine and Russia remain far apart on key issues in their negotiations, including territorial questions and those related to post-war security guarantees.
Later this month, Trump may also hold a trilateral summit with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss the Ukraine war, though preparations for that meeting are still under discussion, according to officials in Moscow.
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