President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that the United States conditions the provision of security guarantees for Ukraine on the ceding of the Donbas region to Russia, which Kiev considers dangerous.
Volodymyr Zelensky/PHOTO: EPA-EFE
“Middle east it certainly has an impact on President Trump and I think on his next steps. Unfortunately, in my opinion, President Trump continues to choose a strategy to exert more pressure on the Ukrainian side”Zelenski told Reuters, writes News.ro.
The US, Russia and Ukraine have held three rounds of high-level trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi and Geneva this year in an attempt to negotiate an end to Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II, which has devastated large swaths of Ukraine and killed hundreds of thousands of people.
The Ukrainian leader has repeatedly stated that strong security guarantees from international partners are needed to ensure that Russia does not resume hostilities in the future after a peace agreement is reached.
Two key questions remained unresolved regarding security guarantees, Zelenskiy said: Who would help finance Ukraine's weapons purchases to maintain its military deterrent, and how exactly would its allies react to any future Russian aggression?
“The Americans are willing to complete these high-level guarantees once Ukraine is ready to withdraw from Donbas”, declared the 48-year-old Ukrainian leader, who added that he understood “shades” the American position, although he did not participate directly in the trilateral discussions.
President Vladimir Putin sees control of Donbas as central to his goals, but Russia's advance is slow and difficult, analysts say.
Zelenski warns that a possible withdrawal would affect the security of Ukraine and Europe and emphasizes that the east of the country is part of the security guarantees demanded by Kiev. Meanwhile, the agreement with the US on these guarantees is still not finalized, although it was almost ready.
The Ukrainian president says Russia is banking on losing US interest if peace talks stall, acknowledging that risk exists.
A new round of talks has been delayed due to the conflict with Iran, and the Ukrainian leader is questioning whether Moscow is willing to sacrifice even more soldiers for Donbas. He argues that only a direct summit with Trump and Putin can lead to a peace deal.
The Ukrainian leader downplayed previous tensions between him and Trump. “I am not a box of chocolates or a car, which is liked or disliked by one person or another”he said.
“In my opinion, the president of the United States is looking at this more pragmatically and probably wants the war to end quickly. And we want it to end quickly,” Zelensky added.
Zelenskiy thanked the Trump administration for continuing deliveries of Patriot systems despite increased demand from the Gulf conflict, after fears that these missiles critical to Ukraine's defense could run out.
“The deliveries to us have not been stopped. I am very grateful to President Trump and his team”Zelensky said. “But this delivery of Patriot missiles is not as large as we need“, he mentioned.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has made progress in producing its own long-range missiles and drones, which allow it to strike deep into Russian territory in retaliation for Russian bombing of Ukrainian cities, Zelenskiy said.
