First guarantees from Trump then negotiations with Russians - Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (photo: president.gov.ua)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the first talks on ending the war will be with President-elect Donald Trump. Only then the negotiations with Russia are possible, he said in the interview with American podcaster Lex Fridman.
In a conversation with the Ukrainian president, Fridman said that he dreams that on January 25, Zelenskyy, Trump, and Putin will sit down at the negotiating table and agree on a ceasefire and strong security guarantees, and then sign a treaty.
“I think January 25 or some other day... we (referring to Ukraine - ed.) sit down first of all with Trump. We agree with him on how we can stop the war, stop Putin (Russian dictator Vladimir Putin - ed.),” Zelenskyy replied.
The President emphasized that if Trump offers strong security guarantees for Ukraine, then there may be a conversation with the Russians.
“And then we can talk to the Russians, that's right, not just three of us sitting down at once,” he added.
Earlier, Donald Trump said that on his first day in office, he wanted to bring Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table.
Even before the election, Trump repeatedly stated that he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours.
However, Zelenskyy emphasized that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin does not want to negotiate. Moreover, the President of Ukraine emphasized that Putin will find reasons to refrain from dialogue until he agrees to its terms.
At the same time, Zelenskyy recently told what Ukraine should expect after Trump's inauguration.
Earlier in today's interview, Zelenskyy said that Trump could be the first leader to visit Ukraine by plane after a full-scale Russian invasion.
