President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he is ready to step down as President of Ukraine if it means peace for Ukraine or in exchange for Ukraine’s membership in NATO.
As emphasized by the President of Ukraine during a press conference on 23 February, he is focusing on Ukraine’s security “today, not in 20 years” and does not intend to “be in power for decades.”
“So that’s probably my focus and aspirational dream,” Zelenskyy said.
Speaking about NATO, he reiterated that membership in the alliance would be the cheapest option for guaranteeing Ukraine’s security. ”I don’t know how the negotiations will end, but in any format, in any case it will be on the table. We will probably discuss it with our partners.”
He added that Europe and the US should be at the table to negotiate peace and security guarantees.
“We want to end the war, and the partners want, and the partners want Russia there, and Russia will be there. I do believe that US President Trump wants and will help us to end this war, but peace through force is first of all to direct its force towards Russia,” Zelenskyy summarized.
Impossible to end war soon
Zelenskyy believes that it is impossible to end the war within a week because security guarantees for Ukraine have not yet been discussed and there have been no substantive meetings on this issue.
The President of Ukraine was asked by a reporter on the scene to provide a reaction to Donald Trump’s remark that the war will be over ”next week”: “It is impossible to end this war this week. (…) At least, I honestly don’t know how without our meetings it can be done for today.”
On the question of how Ukraine should proceed in the absence of NATO membership, Zelenskyy believes that as long as Ukraine is not a NATO member, external funding for the 800,000-strong army is needed as security guarantees.
Responding to a question about ensuring a just peace, said that “today we are talking primarily about everyone’s desire to get Putin to end the hot phase of the war.” This will be difficult and will take time, Zelenskyy said, ”because it has to go along with security guarantees for us.”
Related:
- Zelenskyy to Trump: Putin pretends to want peace because he’s “afraid of you”
- Zelenskyy: I’m ready to negotiate with Putin as long as US and Europe will not abandon Ukraine
- NATO chief Rutte: New treaty between Ukraine and Russia must prevent future Russian aggression
- Poll: Trust in President Zelenskyy shows a notable decline, but it is still above 50%
- Zelenskyy on mobilization: If half our army goes home, we will need to surrender
