The goal set by the newly elected US President Donald Trump to end Russia's war against Ukraine as soon as possible will be extremely difficult to achieve, writes Bloomberg.
Trump, who promised to quickly end the conflict in Ukraine, said he was preparing to meet with the Russian president.
Putin's conditions for a ceasefire, however, are tough for Kiev. In addition to retaining about 20% of the Ukrainian territory it controls, at the top of Putin's list of demands is that Ukraine never be admitted to NATO. Trump has long been skeptical that Ukraine can return the occupied lands and does not support its membership in NATO.
But that's not all - the Russian leader is also determined to severely limit Ukraine's armed forces and minimize its ties with the transatlantic alliance, leaving Kiev little opportunity to defend itself against any future attacks.
Experts are calling this a "return to the punitive terms" that Russia tried to dictate to Ukraine in the first few weeks of its invasion in February 2022.
In just days, Trump will be sworn in as US president (for the second time). But the task before him is extremely difficult - there is no indication that he will be able to stop Putin's war on Ukraine quickly.