Ukraine must be at table to determine its own fate - Zelenskyy
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (photo: facebook.com_zelenskyy.official)
It is impossible to decide Ukraine’s fate behind its back, as such negotiations are unproductive and doomed to fail from the outset. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state cannot be discussed without its participation, states Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with CNN Türk.
According to the head of state, any agreements to end the war must be reached exclusively at the negotiating table where the direct parties to the conflict are present.
Zelenskyy emphasized that it was impossible to decide Ukraine’s fate without Ukraine, as this would be unfair and lead to nothing. He added that negotiating a country’s fate without its participation was illogical.
He added that similar attempts had been made by other leaders in the past, but they achieved no results.
The president also recalled Russia’s inability to achieve its initial military goals, despite its status as a major power and its plans to conquer Ukraine in a matter of days.
The Ukrainian leader underscored that Russia had considered itself great and had claimed it would conquer Ukraine in three days. He added that they were then entering the fifth year of the war and that Russia had still been unable to conquer Ukraine.
Zelenskyy concluded that no third-party states have the right to discuss critical issues of sovereignty that concern the internal affairs of an independent Ukraine.
China previously responded to questions about whether a meeting between US President Donald Trump, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and Russian leader Vladimir Putin was being prepared, stating that there was no official information regarding the organization of such negotiations.
Subsequently, the Kremlin announced the beginning of preparations for a trilateral summit involving the leaders of the three states.
At the same time, as noted by the German President, Xi Jinping does not plan to discuss Ukraine during potential negotiations with Trump and Putin.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also stated that he is ready to meet with Putin in Türkiye.
