The News
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that he is “ready” to begin peace negotiations with the help of the US, European allies and would potentially then talk with Moscow.
“We are ready for any conversations with America and our allies. If they provide us with specific answers to specific requests from us and a common understanding of the dangerous Putin, then, with our unified understanding, we will be ready to talk with the Russians,” AFP reported Zelenskyy as saying.
Trump said Wednesday that he had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that the two countries would begin talks to end the nearly three-year war — but without consulting Ukraine or Europe.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also stated earlier that day that Ukraine could not expect to revert to its 2014 borders or join NATO as part of a peace agreement, claims that were met with widespread backlash from Ukraine’s European allies.
The Ukrainian president also acknowledged these goals — long-held conditions for a potential ceasefire may not be possible: “Do we want to be in NATO? Yes. But is it just about the word ‘NATO’? No – it’s about security guarantees,” he said on Friday, The Guardian reported.
However, Zelenskyy said his “red line” was that Ukraine would never recognize occupied Ukrainian territories — which make up about 20% of land compared to 2022 — as Russian.