AA / Istanbul / Burc Eruygur
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country needed security guarantees to approve a ceasefire deal with Russia.
In an interview with American podcaster Lex Fridman published on Sunday, Zelensky said he doubted the possibility of a ceasefire without knowing what will happen to security guarantees for Ukraine, saying that Ukrainians need to understand what Guarantees will be implemented.
“If this is a ceasefire, we need to understand exactly what security guarantees are in place in the part of Ukraine that we control. We need it so that he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) does not come back,” he said.
Zelensky added that he wants and believes in the ability of his new American counterpart, Donald Trump, to use information about the situation to find a way to strengthen Ukraine.
The Ukrainian President explained that Donald Trump could find himself faced with the same situation as in 2019, when he wanted an end to the conflict and the establishment of a ceasefire.
“What happens next with President Trump if the ceasefire comes without security guarantees, at least for the territory we control, what will he get? If he manages to reach a ceasefire agreement and three months later Putin launches a new wave of attacks. What will Trump look like? What will Ukraine look like? “, he asked.
According to him, Trump would “give Putin a pass” if he reached a ceasefire agreement without security guarantees for Ukraine, which, in his opinion, is not the goal sought by Trump.
The Ukrainian president said a “strong Ukraine” was needed before a ceasefire deal was reached, adding that a quick step to meet kyiv’s security guarantees would be joining the NATO, which he described as an element of security guarantees for his country.
“The second element is the arsenal of weapons, which we will not use. If a ceasefire works, no one will have to use it. For what? But he still has to stay,” he said.
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