Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeals to the Russians in this video still, during an address from Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 4. Courtesy Press Service of the President of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
March 21 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that it was not possible to negotiate an end to the war in his country without meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyi told European public TV channels that such a meeting could discuss the future of the occupied Ukrainian territory, but it would take more time to resolve the issue.
He also reiterated his admission earlier this month that Ukraine cannot now secure NATO membership.
“I believe that until you meet the President of the Russian Federation … you cannot really understand what you are willing to do to end the war and what you are willing to do if we are not ready for this one or that compromise,” Zelenskyj said in an interview.
Zelenskyy has been looking for a meeting with Putin for almost a year, but the Russian leader has declined, instead urging the Ukrainian president to resolve his country’s “civil war” with Moscow-linked separatist areas.
Since Russian troops poured into Ukraine last month, Zelenskyy has increasingly called for talks to end the fighting.
Last week he called for a speedy meeting so Russia could “limit the casualties caused by its mistakes.”
“COMPROMISE MUST BE FOUND”
Russia’s attack on Ukraine has killed thousands and displaced almost a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million people from their homes. Germany predicted that the number of refugees could reach as many as 10 million in the coming weeks. Continue reading
“I am ready to raise the issue of the occupied territories at a meeting with the Russian President, but I am sure that there will be no solution at this meeting,” Zelenskyy said in his interview.
He said several conditions had to be met before such matters could be dealt with, namely a ceasefire, the withdrawal of troops and security guarantees.
“When people try to end a war, there is a truce and troops are withdrawn. Presidents meet, agree on troop withdrawal and there are security guarantees of one kind or another,” he said. “Compromises must be found to ensure our security one way or another.”
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is aware that it cannot be accepted into NATO now. NATO member states, Zelenskyy said, “understand that they don’t want to fight with Russia and therefore cannot take us on … we have to face it and say ‘ok, other guarantees’.”
Reporting and writing by Ron Popeski; Edited by Lidia Kelly, Leslie Adler and Sam Holmes