Donald Trump has abandoned talk of solving the Ukraine conflict on his first day in office in favour of finding a durable peace that would secure his own place in history and a Nobel peace prize.
The incoming US president still wants a quick end to the war and is hoping to persuade both sides to agree to a ceasefire as soon as possible, but has acknowledged that it will take up to six months to forge a meaningful settlement.
After he and President Macron of France held talks with President Zelensky in Paris last month, there are suggestions that a meeting between Trump and President Putin may happen within weeks.
Trump with Macron and Zelensky on December 7
OLEG NIKISHIN/GETTY IMAGES
One factor fuelling Trump’s more realistic approach is a belief that success will make
