Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated that he will not accept any plan in which his country would cede territory to Russia to end hostilities, rejecting an idea reportedly supported by former US President Donald Trump.
“If the deal is just that we give up our territory, and that’s the idea behind it, then it’s a very crude idea,” Mr. Zelensky said in an interview with the Axel Springer media group, the parent company of Politico, on April 9.
“I think if he really has a formula and an approach to end the fighting quickly, then I need very strong arguments... I need a realistic idea, because people's lives are at stake,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Mr Zelensky has long rejected the idea of territorial concessions to end the conflict with Russia. The Ukrainian president again pushed back after the Washington Post reported that Mr Trump had quietly backed a deal that would require Kiev to hand over control of Crimea and the Donbass region to Moscow.
The peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014 and the Donbass region, is now the main battleground for the fierce and protracted fighting between Moscow and Kiev.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits Ukraine's new defense line in the Kharkiv region, April 9, 2024. Photo: Ukrinform
Mr Trump has often boasted publicly that his negotiating skills would allow him to broker an end to hostilities “within 24 hours” of taking office. If the billionaire politician were to back such a plan, it would mark a major departure from the foreign policy of current US President Joe Biden.
However, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt dismissed any claim that the former president had found a way to end the fighting.
“Any speculation about Mr. Trump’s plans comes from anonymous and uninformed sources who have no idea what is going on or what will happen,” Ms. Leavitt said in a statement to The Washington Post.
Mr Trump also pushed Republican lawmakers to reject a $95.3 billion bipartisan aid package for US allies, which included $60 billion for Ukraine.
Mr. Zelensky said he remained optimistic that Congress would approve additional aid, but it was unclear how House Speaker Mike Johnson would handle it. Some Republicans, led by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, have threatened to oust Mr. Johnson if he pushes for more aid to Kiev.
In an interview with Axel Springer, President Zelensky also said he had formally invited Mr. Trump to visit Ukraine. Mr. Biden personally visited the capital Kiev in February last year.
“We have conveyed the message and the context through the appropriate people,” Zelensky said. “We have said that we want Donald Trump to come to Ukraine, see for himself and draw his own conclusions. In any case, I am ready to meet with him and discuss this issue.”
The Ukrainian president noted that Mr. Trump had expressed interest in accepting the invitation, but that no date had been set for a potential visit. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment from the New York Post .
Minh Duc (According to NY Post, Business Insider)
Source
Comment (0)