On Friday, Volodymyr Zelensky relaunched the possibility of a ceasefire, under certain conditions.
The Ukrainian president is demanding guarantees of protection from NATO, he explained in an interview with Sky News.
After more than 1000 days of war, Volodymyr Zelensky outlines the first conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine. In an interview with the British channel Sky News, the Ukrainian president affirmed this Friday, November 29, that he was ready to “end the hot phase of the war” led by Russia by accepting NATO protection guarantees limited only to the territories controlled by kyiv. The first step of a plan (new window) which would continue with the “diplomatic route”he pleaded.
Recover the territory “through diplomatic channels”
It must be said that almost three years after the launch of the invasion (new window) Led by Vladimir Putin, the escalation continues, marked by Moscow's firing of a powerful new missile towards Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky therefore suggested that he was willing to wait before recovering areas occupied by the Russian army if such an agreement could provide security for the rest of Ukraine and end the fighting.
“If we want to end the hot phase of the war, we must bring the territory of Ukraine that we control under the aegis of NATO”he told the British channel (new window)according to a voice-over translation of his remarks in English. A first for the head of state, who has always ruled out ceding territories in exchange for peace (new window). “This is what we need to do quickly, and then Ukraine can get the other part of its territory back”which represents almost a fifth of the country“through diplomatic channels”he added.
Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted that any offer to join NATO must be made to all of Ukraine, but his comments suggest he may accept only alliance protections, such as the clause of collective defense of Article 5, apply only to the territory controlled by kyiv. “If we talk about a ceasefire, we must guarantee that Putin will not return.” For his part, Vladimir Putin has already asked kyiv to abandon its ambitions to join NATO if it wants a peace agreement.
