Zelenskyy details terms for potential deal with Russia
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (facebook.com_zelenskyy.official)
Ukraine is ready for real compromises, but not at the expense of its independence and sovereignty, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says in an interview with Kyodo.
Read also: Which deal with Russia Ukraine will never accept: Zelenskyy's firm answer
"We are ready to talk about compromises with the United States. But we are not ready to receive ultimatums from the Russians again and again. They are the aggressors. Everyone has recognized this. This has not changed," he stresses.
The President notes that many countries that have been mediators or have tried to be mediators since the start of the full-scale war, as well as other countries, recognize Russia as the aggressor.
"That is why our compromise is that we are talking to the aggressor about compromises. 'We stand where we stand' is a big compromise. They have seized almost 20% of our territory. And we are ready to talk about peace now on the basis of the principle of 'we stand where we stand'. This is a big compromise," Zelenskyy says.
At the same time, he stresses that Russia's proposal is not a compromise, but terrorism and an ultimatum.
"What is Russia offering us as a compromise? What are they ready for? They said, 'We are ready not to occupy your other regions.' But this is terrorism. Even these words themselves are terrorism. 'I am ready not to kill you — give us everything.' What does this mean? This is not a compromise. It's an ultimatum," the President emphasizes.
Territories issue
On February 17-18, the third round of trilateral talks between delegations from Ukraine, the US, and Russia on ending the war took place in Geneva, Switzerland.
Ukraine and Russia are unable to agree on peace because Kyiv and Moscow's positions on the issue of territories differ. Russia wants to use diplomacy to gain control of the entire Donetsk region, where Russians are finding it very difficult to advance.
At the same time, Ukraine wants an unconditional ceasefire to be concluded and any negotiations to be based on the current line of demarcation.
Zelenskyy wrote on social media that the negotiating parties had already reached the final stage, but Russia was trying to drag out the negotiations.
