Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainians can vote on negotiated terms aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine if the two countries can iron out an agreement to end the fighting.
In an interview published by Suspilne on Monday, the Ukrainian president said his people will be given the opportunity to respond to certain types of compromise attempts. His promise of a national referendum on possible negotiating terms will give Ukrainians, many of whom have taken up arms against Russia in recent weeks, a greater say.
However, it was not immediately clear how quickly potential terms could be presented to the Ukrainian people after several rounds of peace talks between the two countries stalled.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainians will be able to vote on any negotiated terms aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. Above, Zelenskyy sees a press conference at his official residence in the Maryinsky Palace on March 3 in Kyiv. Laurent Van der Stockt for Le Monde/Getty Images
In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday, Zelenskyy called for another round of peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning that if the talks collapse, the consequences could be dire.
“I’m ready to negotiate with him,” he said. “I’ve been ready for the last two years. And I think we can’t end this war without negotiations,” he added, “I think we have to use every format, every chance, to have the opportunity to … talk to Putin. But if these attempts fail, it would mean that this is a third world war.”
Selenskyj also commented on his country’s previously unsuccessful candidate for NATO membership. He said Ukraine was not fully absorbed into the organization because “they (NATO) are afraid of Russia,” according to the translated interview in Suspilne.
Referring to his promise to set conditions for a national vote, he said that if the move is acceptable to his people, he is “ready to do anything,” according to Suspilne.
Zelenskyy has praised his country for the resistance it has shown during the invasion against Russian forces and said in a video message earlier this month that he believes the heavy resistance in Ukraine was not expected by Putin.
“They came to our country looking for something that had never existed here: cowardice, acceptance of slavery,” he said.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry for comment and will update this story once a response is received.
Update 3/21/22 4:05 PM ET: This story has been updated with additional information and background information.