Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax on Thursday that seeds for a diplomatic solution to Russia's war in Ukraine have been planted as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office next month.

Holt told "Finnerty" and guest host Rob Astorino that Russian President Vladimir Putin's "economy is a royal mess, and he needs access to European markets. Those are the seedlings of negotiations."

Holt said the Russian and Ukrainian camps can expect a completely different landscape from what occurred under the Biden administration since the war began on Feb. 24, 2022. And it will involve more than the two warring nations.

"There's going to be a lot of diplomacy, engagement, travel, conferences, [requests] for conferences. But it's not going to just involve Ukraine and Russia," Holt said.

"It's got to involve NATO. It's got to involve Europe. Europe needs Russian cheap gas. So there again, these are all the plates of a demilitarized deal that's out there to be had.

"Also, Russia's relationship with China is not going very well, either. So there's many reasons the Kremlin is going to be very attentive to what President Trump has to say," he said.

"Is Ukraine going to be ceding land out of this? Yeah, that's just the realities of the battlefield. That's the way it is.

"But what has to stop and what President Trump has been saying the entire time is in the absence of some sort of strategy, which we've seen none, you've got to stop the killing. It's got to stop," Holt said.

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