“First with Trump, we agree with him on how to end the war, how to stop Putin,” Volodymyr Zelensky said this Sunday in a three-hour interview with American podcaster Lex Fridman, also affirming that it was “very important that Europe had a voice” in the discussions.
“Trump and I will reach an agreement – and I am sure he will be able to offer strong security guarantees with Europe – and then we will be able to talk to the Russians,” he said.
Zelensky very complimentary of Trump
The interview, recorded at the end of December in kyiv, covered many topics and was conducted by Lex Fridman in Russian, with Volodymyr Zelensky answering questions in Ukrainian.
The initial version of the interview video, however, only provided English dubbing made using artificial intelligence.
The Ukrainian president repeated his expectation that Donald Trump would be able to end the war.
“I see now that when I talk about something with Donald Trump – whether in person or on the phone – all the European leaders ask me ‘how did it go?’ “, he said. “This shows the influence of Donald Trump, and this has never happened before with an American president, in my own experience,” added Volodymyr Zelensky before adding: “It gives you confidence that he can end this war. »
The Ukrainian president was very complimentary of the future American president, who won against Vice-President Kamala Harris because “he was much stronger”, according to him.
“I love President Trump’s message when he speaks. I think we share this idea of peace through strength which is very important,” he said.
The return of Donald Trump to the White House on January 20 raises hopes in kyiv of strong decisions after almost three years of Russian invasion, but also the fear of a drop in American financial and military support, which the Republican leader has criticized on numerous occasions.
NATO security guarantees
For Volodymyr Zelensky, when Donald Trump says he wants to end the war, “these are not just words”.
“I really count on him and I think our people really count on him,” he said. “He has enough power to put pressure on him, on Putin,” added the Ukrainian president.
Volodymyr Zelensky had already assured this Thursday in a television interview that Donald Trump, due to his “unpredictable” character, could be “decisive” in this war.
The Ukrainian president has long refused to negotiate an end to the war with Vladimir Putin, but he recently softened his position, notably agreeing to temporarily give up trying to retake the territories conquered by Moscow, in exchange for security guarantees from NATO. and an increase in arms deliveries to kyiv.
In his interview published on Sunday, he said he prayed that Donald Trump would not withdraw the United States from NATO – as the Republican had threatened – because such a withdrawal would represent “the biggest risk” for security in Europe , according to the Ukrainian president.
Volodymyr Zelensky also said he did not want “the same situation as with Biden”, saying that sanctions against Russia and arms deliveries to Ukraine had come too late.
Asked about possibly coming to the United States on January 20 for Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Ukrainian president said he would like to be able to attend “depending on what’s happening at that time in the war,” but that For this he was waiting for a formal invitation from the future American president.
