Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with ABC News that he is ready to conclude an agreement to end the war with Russia immediately. Asked by journalist James Longman whether he would strike a deal if such an opportunity arose today, Zelensky replied: “Yes, I would do that.”
Asked whether he would give up 25% of Ukraine’s territory for an agreement, Zelensky countered that Russia does not occupy a quarter of the country. “When someone talks about 25%, it means that we would have to leave the entire Donbas ourselves, and then, yes, they would control 25%. Right now, they control 19.3%,” he said.
Zelensky: “We are ready to stop the war as soon as possible”
The president confirmed his readiness to freeze the conflict along the current line of contact. “We are ready to stop this war as soon as possible,” Zelensky said. At the same time, he stressed that Kyiv would not agree to proposals to recognize the temporarily occupied territories as Russian.
In the interview, Zelensky also complained about insufficient support from the United States, saying: “This is not support.” Earlier this week, he also told Fox News that he was ready to freeze the war provided that the United States and Europe offered security guarantees.