Before the negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv on a possible peace solution to the Ukraine war on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized his willingness to compromise.
“In every negotiation, my goal is to end the war with Russia. And I am also ready to take certain steps,” Zelenskyy told the “Bild” newspaper before the meeting of his Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Turkey.
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“One can make compromises, but these must not be a betrayal of my country,” emphasized Zelenskyy, without giving details. However, the other side must also be willing to make compromises.
He “didn’t want to talk publicly about the details yet”, especially since he still has no direct contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Only after the direct talks between the two presidents can we end this war.”
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Russia is demanding that Ukraine recognize the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea as Russian territory and the breakaway “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states. In addition, Kyiv should undertake not to join NATO and remain neutral.
In an interview with “Zeit”, however, Selenskyj was still ready to fight. “We have something they don’t have: these are the people who really value their freedom and are ready to fight for it,” the Ukrainian president said. Hundreds of Russian soldiers have already been taken prisoner.
He also considers a nuclear war to be extremely unlikely. “It’s one thing to be a killer. A suicide is another matter. Every use of nuclear weapons means the end for everyone involved – not just for the person who uses them,” said Zelenskyj in the “Zeit” interview. (Tsp, dpa)
