Ukraine needs security guarantees before talks with Russia, Zelenskyy says
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine needs security guarantees to return to the negotiating table with Russia. they will help in the future to deter Russia's repeated aggression, said President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Polish media.
"Ukraine is not having any behind-the-scenes talks with Russia. It's not in our interests. Because for us, the loss of trust among partners is a big risk. It’s important for me to preserve the alliance between partners," the president emphasized.
According to Zelenskyy, the war can end diplomatically because this means "fewer casualties and less time."
"The main thing is that you can stop this hellish story. The desire is needed for this. Even if one partner, like Russia, does not want to, one can use the formula we speak of - peace through strength, when partners unite and force the occupiers to dialogue. We are talking about dialogue. Today, this is still not happening," the president said.
Zelenskyy stressed that before moving to diplomacy, Ukraine needs security guarantees, as only security guarantees can deter further aggression from Russia and Vladimir Putin.
"One cannot simply talk about a ceasefire and give the Russians time to prepare for occupation, as it was between 2014 and 2022. So, it is important what security guarantees there will be for Ukraine, where is our NATO, where is our weaponry, where is our support, and so on. I have a very simple question: for example, we are not yet in NATO, and diplomacy has started, a million-strong army that is in Ukraine right now, and partners are helping, where will we find money later to maintain a million-strong army? This is a fact. If you don’t have NATO, don’t have support, air defense, and a general fleet, you have to rely only on yourself," he said.
Ukraine-Russia negotiations
Ukraine and Russia are not holding peace talks now. Ukraine stresses that it does not reject diplomacy, but wants the negotiations to be on favorable terms.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that before entering into negotiations, Ukraine needs to strengthen its position. He believes that one of the best security guarantees would be Ukraine’s invitation to NATO.
Zelenskyy also recently said that he would first like to receive guarantees from the elected US President Donald Trump, and only then start negotiations with the Russians.
