President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine must do all it can to ensure the war with Russia ends next year through diplomacy.
In a radio interview aired on Saturday, Zelenskyy conceded that the battlefield situation in eastern Ukraine was difficult and Russia was making advances. He said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was not interested in agreeing to a peace deal.
Zelenskyy said U.S. legislation prevented him from meeting President-elect Donald Trump before his inauguration next January. The Ukrainian leader said he would only talk with Trump himself rather than any emissary or advisor.
“I, as the president of Ukraine, will only take seriously a conversation with the president of the United States of America, with all due respect to any entourage, to any people.”
“From our side, we must do everything so that this war ends next year, ends through diplomatic means,” Zelenskyy said.
Russia is open to negotiations on an end to the Ukraine war if initiated by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, but any talks need to be based on the realities of Russian advances, Moscow’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva told reporters on Thursday.
“Trump promised to settle the Ukrainian crisis overnight. OK, let him try. But we are realistic people of course we understand that this will never happen,” said Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.
“But if he starts or suggests something to start the political process, it’s welcome.”
He added that any such negotiations needed to be based on what he called the “realities on the ground”, describing Ukraine as being on the back foot in the more-than-two-year conflict. Russian forces are advancing at the fastest pace in at least a year in Ukraine and now control about one-fifth of the country.
Trump has repeatedly criticised the scale of Western aid to Kyiv and has promised to end the conflict swiftly. His victory in the November 5 presidential election has spurred concerns in Kyiv and other European capitals about the degree of future U.S. commitment to helping Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly said peace cannot be established until all Russian forces are expelled and all territory captured by Moscow, including Crimea, is returned. The “victory plan” he outlined last month maintained that provision, as well as an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO, long denounced by Russia.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
