From concessions to conditions: How Zelenskyy, Putin, and Trump see end of war
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Russian leader Volodymyr Putin and President of the USA Donald Trump (collage RBC-Ukraine)
The leaders of Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and the USA voiced new statements regarding the war and peace negotiations. Zelenskyy rejects any ideas regarding territorial concessions, Putin speaks about "referendums", and Trump once again declares his own plan of settlement.
RBC-Ukraine collected the latest statements of Zelenskyy, Putin, and Trump about the war in Ukraine and the path to its settlement in the material below.
Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who declared about readiness to meet with Russian dictator Volodymyr Putin, emphasizes that the head of the Kremlin actually does not want negotiations and strives to continue the war.
The head of state, in an interview with Le Point, categorically rejected the idea of refusal from occupied territories such as Donbas or Crimea, arguing that this will not bring peace but only strengthen the positions of Russia for new attacks.
He reminded us how in 2014 Crimea and part of Donbas were seized by Russians, becoming bridgeheads for the full-scale invasion that happened in February 2022.
Also, Zelenskyy stated that Russia needs years and millions of soldiers in order to completely capture the Donetsk region. He drew attention that in four years the dictator has not managed to capture even 30% of one oblast.
The president emphasized that territorial concessions to the Russian Federation will bring the war to Europe and will threaten Kharkiv and Dnipro.
According to him, if the aggressor country can capture all of Ukraine, then it will use it as a bridgehead for further offensive on Europe. However, whether it will do this, in his opinion, will depend on the determination of Europe.
"If Europe is strong, he (Putin – ed.) probably will do nothing, but if it is weak, then it will undergo actions of Russia. Between Moscow and Paris, there are fewer than 3000 kilometers. And today, the missiles that Russia uses against Ukraine have a range of 2500 kilometers. We ourselves have missiles with a range of 3000 kilometers," said the president of Ukraine.
He called on Europeans to think strategically, because weakness will provoke the Russian dictator to use seized territories as a basis for attacks on the EU.
"There is no more 'distant war'… Believe me, in two years the Russians will have many missiles with a range up to 5000 km, and the sea will not protect anyone. The ocean will not protect anyone," warned the president.
At the same time, Zelenskyy does not exclude a "Korean scenario" for Ukraine: absence of a full peace treaty after the war, but economic prosperity thanks to strong allies (in particular, the USA).
At the same time, the president emphasizes that Ukraine is decisively determined to obtain reliable security guarantees, for example, Patriot systems, which South Korea has.
"However, the comparison with South Korea has its limits: the population of North Korea is a little more than 20 million, whereas the population of Russia is more than 140 million. The scales of these threats cannot be compared. The threats from the Russian Federation are five, six, or even ten times greater. A full repetition of the South Korean model would probably not suit Ukraine from the point of view of security. On the other hand, its economic model is a good example,” believes Zelenskyy.
He rejected the idea of peace at any price. The president emphasizes that negotiations are possible only on the conditions of Ukraine, with respect for sovereignty. He reminded us of the necessity of strengthening sanctions, military aid, and so on.
Putin
A number of statements regarding the war against Ukraine were also made by the Russian dictator following the results of his visit to China, where he attended Xi Jinping’s "pompous" military parade.
Putin claims that he does not plan to link security guarantees to Ukraine in exchange for territories. In this way, he rejected the thesis of Western media that he allegedly offered the Trump administration to "freeze" the war if Kyiv refuses in particular from the Donetsk region and the Luhansk region. (Leaks in the media were spread after the latest trip of Trump’s special representative Steve Witkoff to Moscow at the beginning of August).
He also repeated his propagandistic narrative that Russia allegedly "fights not so much for territories as for 'the rights of people who live on these territories to speak their own language.'"
The head of the Kremlin threatened that he is "ready to agree on an acceptable option" of ending the war against Ukraine, otherwise he will "achieve goals by armed means".
"It seems to me that if common sense prevails, to agree on an acceptable option of ending this conflict is possible," said the Russian dictator.
He also stated that "for the settlement of territorial issues," the Ukrainian authorities allegedly "must hold a referendum." At the same time he added that “a referendum cannot be held under conditions of martial law.”
"So, to hold a referendum, it is necessary to cancel martial law, but as soon as this is done, it is necessary to go to elections – this process will last endlessly," said Putin.
At the same time he confirmed media reports that the holding of a meeting with Zelenskyy was proposed to him by the American leader Donald Trump. At the same time, Putin proposed to organize such a meeting in Moscow.
"By the way, Donald asked me, if possible, to hold such a meeting. I said: 'Yes, it is possible.' Well, in the end, if Zelenskyy is ready, let him come to Moscow, such a meeting will take place," said the Russian leader.
At the same time, Putin again questioned the legitimacy of Zelenskyy. He repeated baseless theses regarding Ukraine, stating as if President Zelenskyy’s term "has already ended."
"In general, I never excluded the possibility of such a meeting. Is there any sense in these meetings?" said Putin.
The Russian dictator put forward his own "interpretations" of Ukrainian legislation, claiming that after five years of presidential power, it should have been taken over by the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada.
Such statements do not correspond to reality: the Constitution and the laws of Ukraine clearly provide that the head of state performs his duties until the end of the effect of martial law.
Trump
At the same time, the president of the USA, who repeatedly set deadlines regarding his decisions toward the Kremlin, threatening with "consequences," again stated that Putin must make a decision in the context of the war against Ukraine.
"He knows where I stand. He'll make a decision one way or the other, whatever his decision is, we will either be happy about it or unhappy, and if we're unhappy about it, you'll see things happen," said Trump yesterday.
At the same time, the head of the White House does not agree to delay the introduction of tough sanctions against Russia.
"How do you know there's no action? Uh, would you say that putting secondary sanctions on India, the largest purchaser outside of China, they're almost equal, uh, would you say there was no action?" he said, emphasizing that this decision has already cost Moscow hundreds of billions of dollars.
Trump also claims that his plan "consists of several stages" and he has "not yet reached the second and third phases." According to him, he recently warned India that in the case of purchases from Russia, it will face serious problems.
In an interview with CBS News, he stated that he "carefully follows" the position of the head of the Kremlin and the president of Ukraine regarding negotiations about peace. His hopes for a transition from hostilities of the Russian Federation in Ukraine to diplomacy, Trump called “realistic and optimistic.”
"I've been watching it, I've been seeing it, and I've been talking about it with President Putin and President Zelenskyy… Something is going to happen, but they are not ready yet. But something is going to happen. We are going to get it done," said Trump.
Commenting on the latest massive attack of the Russian Federation on Kyiv the head of the White House stated that he is "disappointed" by what is happening and added: "I think we're going to get it all straightened out."
Trump said he had thought the Russian war against Ukraine "would have been on the easier side of the ones I've stopped", but noted it had turned out "a little bit more difficult than some of the others".
The issue of security guarantees and their implications remains the primary concern on the path to achieving a peaceful settlement in Ukraine and determining its outcome.
Today, the Coalition of the Willing gathered to discuss security guarantees. Representatives of 33 countries of Europe and other parts of the world take part in the meeting (offline and via video connection). Present at the event in Paris is the president of Ukraine, and participation is also being taken by the special representative of the USA, Steve Witkoff.
President Emmanuel Macron of France, before the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, stated that the work on preparing security guarantees for Ukraine is complete, and the allies are now ready for political approval.
After the meeting in Paris also will take place a joint phone conversation of the allies with Trump.
Following the results of the meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, a briefing for the press will be held.
Sources: Le Point, CBS News, and TASS.
