“The presidential election campaign in the United States will soon begin. We believe that this is now the most active stage when diplomacy can help end the war. It will last from the end of this year until the end of summer 2027. They will not make it before the elections in the United States – we understand that. Putin wants to constantly demonstrate strength, refuses any dialogue, and seeks maximum escalation. That is the impression. We discuss this with Europeans as well,” said V. Zelensky.
He added that American negotiators are trying to find a negotiation format that the Russians would agree to and that would not include conditions for the Ukrainian defense forces to withdraw from Donbas. However, Russia continues to demand this from Ukraine, claiming that its army will eventually occupy this territory anyway.
“The Russians do not care how many losses they will suffer and how long it may take. They still want to achieve this goal. And I have a question: who can guarantee that they will not go further? I assure you: neither America, nor Europe, nor anyone else can provide such guarantees. But it is obvious that the Russians want to go further,” noted V. Zelensky.
He emphasized that the US can provide security guarantees to Ukraine only when Russia agrees to end the war. When asked when Russia would agree to end the war, the US response was: “When Ukraine withdraws from Donbas.”
“Therefore, there are several discussions on this topic and a lot of uncertainty – what will happen next? What will the Russians do next if some kind of inappropriate decision is made regarding Ukraine?” explained V. Zelensky.
He noted that Ukraine has discussed real possibilities to end the war with the American side. Now the US should discuss this issue with the Russian side.
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“In short, there is one idea regarding a ceasefire – that is the most important. The second part is what the Americans proposed regarding a free economic zone. That is, we and the Russians withdraw an equal distance, creating a buffer zone called a free economic zone, which would be administered by someone. Who exactly – is unclear, but it would be some third country.
And third: what will the EU and NATO do and what is Ukraine prepared to do about it? That is what is on the negotiation table today. As far as we know, the Americans have a few more ideas. They want to find the right moment to share them. We are waiting for them,” said V. Zelensky.
Peace negotiations: the most important news
We remind you that the Kremlin yesterday made several statements regarding the end of the war in Ukraine. Essentially, all of them repeat the main Russian demand – Ukraine must withdraw from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Specifically, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin stated that Russia has received various proposals to start negotiations, but Moscow does not agree with them.
The first deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Serhiy Kyslytsya, earlier explained that Russia currently does not want to start active negotiations partly because it is waiting for winter. According to the official, Moscow hopes that Ukrainians will not be able to survive this period.
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