Zelensky open to talks with Putin if Trump ensures security
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has declared his readiness for direct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war, should a specific condition be met.
- If he [Trump] can guarantee this strong and irreversible security for Ukraine, we will move along this diplomatic path. I understand that without Russia, it is impossible to end this war diplomatically, - Zelensky said in an interview with Bloomberg.
According to him, long-term security guarantees for Ukraine could be NATO membership or the presence of Western peacekeeping forces in the country. - Any potential peacekeeping force, if it were to be deployed, must include the participation of US troops - emphasised Zelensky.
Warns against Russia and Putin's promises
He also called for the prevention of a scenario in which, after a temporary truce, Putin, having time to rearm and equip his army, would resume military actions.
Zelensky warned that the most dangerous thing—not just for President Trump, but for himself and all Ukrainians—was whether Trump could secure the agreement in a manner that would prevent Putin from returning. He cautioned that Putin would make grand promises to President Trump and go to great lengths simply to secure the meeting. The President of Ukraine added that the issue of ending the war should be a victory for Trump, not Putin.
Previously, Zelensky allowed negotiations with Putin but only on the condition that Russia agrees to discuss a peace plan that Kyiv will approve, along with partners, at the "second peace summit" – an event planned for the end of 2024, which never took place.
Are negotiations with Russia coming?
Putin, in turn, mentioned that he would not talk to Zelensky because he signed a presidential decree declaring that negotiations with Russia were "impossible." He referred to the decree of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (NSDC) that prohibited personal negotiations with Putin. Zelensky implemented this document in October 2022. After this, the Kremlin stated that Kyiv could enter a "peaceful" trajectory if the Ukrainian president lifts this ban.
In June 2024, Putin presented the conditions for starting peace negotiations. These include the withdrawal of the Ukrainian army from the unoccupied parts of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, the official refusal of Kyiv to join NATO, confirmation of Ukraine's nuclear-free status, "demilitarisation" and "denazification" of the country, as well as lifting all Western sanctions against Russia. The President of Ukraine called these conditions another ultimatum.
