Agreement to end war is still very far away - Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Zelenskyy (photo: Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that a peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine is still a long way off. According to him, no steps toward such an agreement have been initiated yet, according to his conversation with journalists in London.
The president said that they were talking about the first steps that day and that until they were on paper, they wouldn’t want to go into too much detail about them. He mentioned that a peace agreement to end the war was still a very, very long way off and added that no one had started all these steps yet.
Zelenskyy emphasized that the peace we will foresee in the future must be fair, honest, and, most importantly, sustainable.
The head of state explained that it must be very specific, with very specific security guarantees and very specific parties responsible for these security guarantees, along with clear accountability for the scope of this assistance, in terms of what it would entail - whether it was about assistance at sea, on land, or in the air. He emphasized that it wasn’t just about assistance, but presence, and that this was part of the security guarantees.
He added that today we are not talking about any concessions, as it would be the wrong conversation. Zelenskyy emphasized that we are hearing signals from partners, including the US, but everyone must understand that Ukraine will never recognize any territories occupied by Russia as Russian territories.
The Ukrainian leader stated that for them, it would be a temporary occupation. He explained that the level of support for Ukraine would determine the confidence of their people, which was why they were so focused on ensuring that these security guarantees must be such that they completely prevent Russia from launching further aggression.
French President Emmanuel Macron, together with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, is preparing a joint plan for achieving peace in Ukraine. The plan specifically includes a one-month truce for Ukraine, covering the air, sea, and energy sectors.
