Better without deal than with bad one: Zelenskyy says he is ready to continue fight
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (Getty Images)
Ukraine is ready to continue fighting Russia if there is no opportunity to sign a good agreement to end the war, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this in an interview with The Atlantic.
Read also: Zelenskyy blasts Russia for replacing negotiations with Oreshnik missile threats
According to the outlet, some members of Zelenskyy’s inner circle are concerned that the window of opportunity to reach a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia is closing. In their view, Ukraine could face years of continued fighting if a deal to end the war is not reached this spring.
For his part, Zelenskyy, as The Atlantic writes, stressed in the interview that he would rather refuse a deal altogether than force his people to accept a bad one. The president also assured that after four years of full-scale war, he is ready to continue the fight.
"Ukraine is not losing," the head of state said, commenting on the situation on the battlefield.
Peace negotiations
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy made this statement a week after the second round of talks between Ukrainian, Russian, and US officials in Abu Dhabi.
At the negotiations, Ukraine insists that under a peace agreement, the sides should "remain where they stand."
For its part, Russia demands that the entire Donetsk region come under its control and that Ukrainian troops be completely withdrawn from the region.
The United States, meanwhile, has proposed the idea of establishing a free economic zone in Donbas. According to Zelenskyy, this idea is rejected by both Ukraine and Russia.
For more details on how the second round of talks in Abu Dhabi unfolded, see the RBC-Ukraine report.
