Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Ukraine will nominate President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize if he provides long-range Tomahawk missiles and helps secure a ceasefire with Russia.
“During our most recent meeting, I didn’t hear a ‘no.’ What I did hear was that work will continue at the technical level and that this possibility will be considered,” Zelensky said of his meeting with Trump at the United Nations General Assembly late last month.
“The plan for ending the war won’t be easy, but it is certainly the way forward. And if Trump gives the world — above all, the Ukrainian people — the chance for such a ceasefire, then yes, he should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize,” he added. “We will nominate him on behalf of Ukraine.”
Trump has boasted about his role in ending seven wars around the world. That’s now tentatively up to eight after his administration helped broker the first stage of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday. The agreement allows for the return of the remaining Israeli hostages and requires Israel to withdraw from most of Gaza.
Before announcing the peace deal, Trump downplayed expectations about receiving the prestigious award on Friday for his peacemaking efforts.
“I have no idea,” he said when asked if he believed he would win. “We settled seven wars. We’re close to settling an eighth, and I think we’ll end up settling the Russia situation, which is horrible.”
“So I don’t think anybody in history has settled that many,” he added. “But perhaps they’ll find a reason not to give it to me.”
The wars that Trump helped end were fought between Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, Pakistan and India, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan.
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday and awarded at a ceremony in Norway on Dec. 10. Nominations for the annual prize closed in January, meaning it’s unlikely Trump will get the award this year. However, he may win one in the coming years.
Zelensky, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, believes Trump deserves it if he can help the Russia-Ukraine war come to a peaceful close.
TRUMP ‘ISN’T HOLDING HIS BREATH’ OVER THIS YEAR’S NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
Earlier this week, Trump said he had “sort of” decided on whether to send the requested Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, but first wants to know how the weapons will be used.
A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry warned a shipment of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would lead to a “new serious stage of escalation” in the war.
