No quick end to Ukraine war but armistice, end of hot phase possible, says Polish representative

Paweł Kowal, the Polish government's plenipotentiary for Ukraine's reconstruction, believes the war in Ukraine will not end quickly, though a ceasefire and end to the hot phase is possible, he said in an interview with RMF24.

The key lies in the conditions under which this might happen, as "unfreezing" the war would not be a problem for Russia, Kowal added.

When asked if a armistice, given the current frontline, would mean the irreversible loss of territories for Ukraine, Kowal disagreed. He noted that the West is oriented not towards the current situation but towards a "sanctioned by international law view of the Ukrainian state."

"The signals from the people who will be involved are good: Marco Rubio (U.S. Senator), General Kellogg, Michael Waltz (candidate for U.S. National Security Advisor). We know these politicians, we know their views, who are resolutely pro-Atlantic, and we know about Poland's involvement. We are ready to cooperate with them," Kowal said, noting that while Putin is present today, he may not be tomorrow.

On November 18, Bloomberg reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hopes to convince Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to freeze the war in Ukraine.

On December 10, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that peace talks in Ukraine could begin as early as this winter.

On December 11, Reuters reported that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump told Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron that he wants an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine.