Putin seeks to deceive US and delay sanctions – Zelenskyy
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
Vladimir Putin is trying to deceive Donald Trump and the United States by delaying the introduction of new sanctions.
This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to his interview with Sky News.
During the conversation with Yalda Hakim at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv, the head of state was asked whether he considered the summit between the Russian and American leaders in Alaska this August to be a mistake.
"I think it gave a lot to Putin," he said, "and I believe, if it were a trilateral meeting, we would have some result."
At the same time, the president is convinced that Putin is trying to deceive Trump.
"[Putin] definitely wants to trick the US," Volodymyr Zelenskyy tells Sky's Yalda Hakim at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv. "He's doing everything he can to avoid sanctions. And if you keep delaying them, then the Russians will be better prepared."
On Putin's attempt to break isolation
"He wanted to get out of political isolation with this Alaska summit. I think he had to pay more for this meeting with the US president. He should have got a blow in this war and stopped. Instead, he got de-isolation.
He got photos with President Trump. He got public dialogue. And I think it opens doors for Putin to other summits, other formats. Because this is reality, we see it, we observe it. And I don’t think he paid anything for it," Zelenskyy said.
On sanctions and force need
"He has to pay. First, because he started the war. Second, because he is trying to find a way out of isolation. It is very important not to give Putin this space; otherwise, he will not feel that he has to stop the war. He is leading the war. And everybody is trying to stop him with discussions, with requests. But instead, force must be used. He understands force. This is his language. This is the language he understands," Zelenskyy stated.
He also claimed that Putin doesn’t know many languages. But the language of force, he understands it like Russian, his mother tongue.
"That is why we are asking very much the European countries and the US to do it, and to show it. Yes, they are taking some steps, like sanctions, but more must be done, and faster," Ukrainian President concluded.
Alaska summit and Putin's demands
On August 15, in Anchorage, Alaska, US President Donald Trump met with Vladimir Putin.
During the summit, Putin proposed that Trump hand over the entire territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to Russian control in exchange for the withdrawal of Russian forces from the occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
Later, Putin went further, suggesting that all of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions be recognized as part of Russia.
In response, Trump expressed disappointment with the Kremlin leader’s position, later threatening sanctions against Russia and urging NATO countries to stop buying Russian oil to halt the war.
In early September, Putin declared that any foreign troops deployed on Ukrainian territory under any legal status would be considered a legitimate target for strikes by Russian forces.
