Zelenskyy was speaking at a press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen before flying to Washington for talks with Trump on Monday. According to Zelenskyy, Russia has failed to conquer the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, which Moscow has pushed to control since 2014. Putin “has been unable to take it for […]
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Zelenskyy was speaking at a press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen before flying to Washington for talks with Trump on Monday.
According to Zelenskyy, Russia has failed to conquer the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, which Moscow has pushed to control since 2014. Putin “has been unable to take it for 12 years, and the constitution of Ukraine makes it impossible … to give up territory or trade land,” Zelenskyy said.
The New York Times reported Sunday that Trump had told European leaders he believed peace could be negotiated if Ukraine agreed to give up territory in the east of the country. Key parts of the Donetsk region, including the strategic cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, have held out against Russia’s full-blown invasion. The American president claimed to have found agreement with Putin on “many points” during their talks on Friday.
Zelenskyy said he was open to negotiating with Putin himself at a future meeting to be brokered by Trump.
“Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral [of] Ukraine, United States [and] Russia,” Zelenskyy said. “So far, Russia gives no sign that trilateral will happen, and if Russia refuses, then new sanctions must follow.”
POLITICO reported last week that Kyiv would not discuss territorial exchanges unless Russia first accepted — and adhered to — a ceasefire, something Moscow has continually declined to set a date for.
