'I don't want trouble for my country,' Zelenskyy reacts to ceasefire calls
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (president.gov.ua)
Ukraine cannot trust Russian President Vladimir Putin to cease fire, as he is a killer and aggressor, states President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Bloomberg.
"In terms of cease-fire, in war, we cannot just talk about cease-fire like that. For me, a plan is needed for our people. We cannot trust Putin because he is a killer and aggressor for us," he said.
Zelenskyy reminded that Ukraine has had hundreds of meetings since the Minsk agreements many years ago.
"The parties agreed on a cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia, and Russia constantly disrupted it and killed our people. So, only if it's on an internationally understood platform in the presence of trusted country leaders. They may have different thoughts and views on the stages of ending this war, but we all must be on the same side and trust each other," emphasized Zelenskyy.
He added that the peace summit showed Ukraine can follow this plan, hence today they are discussing energy and nuclear security.
"A clear plan will be developed. As for a cease-fire, a very clear plan is also needed there. We must understand that Russia will not use a cease-fire to accumulate equipment on the territory they have occupied because we will not stop hitting them in one way or another. That is, they can simply concentrate a strong fist, then blame us, as it has already been, that we violated, for example, cease-fire and start another invasion. It is very difficult for us," he said.
Zelenskyy stressed that if Russia's invasion after the cease-fire is the same as at the beginning of 2022, it would be a great loss for Ukraine.
"So, I don't want trouble for my country. We are already at war. Giving preference to Russia today is simply impossible. We need to be smart. And it is important again: who will be responsible for this, besides Ukrainians with their lives? Which country? It is very easy to agree on a cease-fire and very difficult to maintain it. It will be very difficult later to find those who should be responsible for why the cease-fire was disrupted," the president emphasized.
Orban's proposition
During a recent visit to Kyiv, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban proposed to Zelenskyy to cease fire before starting peaceful negotiations with Russia.
In response, the President's Office noted that Budapest is not the first to make such a proposal. Zelenskyy listened to Orban but laid out his position.
