Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has a long and complicated history with Donald Trump, said he spoke by phone with the U.S. president-elect and congratulated him on his election victory.
Zelenskiy said on X on November 6 that he told Trump that his "tremendous campaign" made the result possible and also "praised his family and team for their great work."
He said he and Trump agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance cooperation between Kyiv and Washington.
"Strong and unwavering U.S. leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace," Zelenskiy said.
Trump has said he would work with both Ukraine and Russia to end their conflict. He has said that Kyiv might have to cede territory to reach a peace agreement, something Ukraine has rejected.
Trump was impeached during his presidency by the then-Democratic-controlled House of Representatives in December 2019 over a phone call in which he was accused of pressuring Zelenskiy to dig up dirt on President Joe Biden's son's activities in Ukraine. He was acquitted by the Senate, then controlled by the Republicans, in February 2020.
Trump has taken aim at Zelenskiy several times. At a campaign stop on September 25, he repeated his description of the Ukrainian president as "the greatest salesman in the world" -- a reference to the tens of billions of dollars in aid lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have approved since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
In a post on X on November 6, Zelenskiy said it was always crucial for the people of Ukraine and all populations across Europe to hear the words "peace through strength" during Trump's first term when he was the 45th president of the United States.
"When this principle becomes the policy of the 47th president, both America and the entire world will undoubtedly benefit," Zelenskiy said, referring to Trump's return to the White House after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 election.
He noted that President Ronald Reagan used the words frequently in his dealings with the then-Soviet Union.
"People want confidence, they want freedom, they want a normal life," Zelenskiy said. "For us, that means a life free from Russian aggression, with a strong America, a strong Ukraine, and strong allies."
Trump said during the campaign he would work quickly with both Ukraine and Russia to end the conflict but didn't provide many specifics on how.
Zelenskiy in recent weeks has outlined a set of measures that he says would turn the tide of the war in Kyiv's favor and possibly end the conflict.
His five-point "victory plan" rules out ceding Ukrainian territory and calls for an unconditional invitation for Kyiv to join the NATO military alliance and the deployment of a strategic nonnuclear deterrent package in Ukraine.
