Zelenskiy refuses to accept any peace deal without Ukraine’s involvement
- 13 February, 09:05
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday said that he will not agree to any peace deal to end the war without Kyiv’s involvement. Zelenskiy made the remarks after Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin pledged to start talks to end nearly three years of war in Ukraine.
"We cannot accept it, as an independent country," Zelensky said. US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a phone conversation and agreed to begin negotiations to end the nearly three years of war in Ukraine.
“I think we’re on the way to getting peace,” Trump said after more than an hour on the phone. “I think President Putin wants peace and President Zelenskyy wants peace and I want peace,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump added that it was not "practical" for Ukraine to join Nato, and "unlikely" that it could return to its pre-2014 borders. Trump signaled that he would meet Vladimir Putin in person in the near term, suggesting that the meeting could take place in Saudi Arabia.
Trump’s change of nearly three years US policy over Russia-Ukraine war also raised concerns among Ukraine’s Western allies. NATO chief Mark Rutte said Ukraine must be involved in peace talks and any final deal needs to be “enduring”.
However, Kremlin took a triumphant tone over Trump’s policy shift. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the conversation between Trump and Putin covered a good deal of ground, including the Middle East and Iran, but that Ukraine was the main focus.
Donald Trump’s efforts to reach a peace deal over Ukraine is part of his pre-election campaign pledge to end the war as soon as possible.
