Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the statement of former US President Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine in “24 hours”. According to him, no person on earth will force him to do so.
Main points
According to the Ukrainian president, a quick end to the conflict could lead to the surrender of Ukrainian territories and the lifting of sanctions against Russia.
Zelensky and Trump are planning their first phone call since the latter stepped down as US president. The conversation comes amid concerns EU. Experts suggest that the phone call will focus on Trump's policies on Russia's war against Ukraine and the upcoming US elections. Ending the war “in 24 hours” would mean the surrender of Ukrainian territories.
Vladimir Zelensky stated this in an interview with the BBC.
“Everyone would be happy if one person in the world – it doesn't matter if it's Donald Trump or anyone else, even Donald Trump – could stop the war in 24 hours. But the question is at what cost, and who will pay it. I don't mean that his (Trump's, – ed.) idea is to make us pay. But if he wants to do it within 24 hours, the easy way is to make us pay,” he stressed.
According to Zelensky, he understands what this means – to stop the fighting, give up territories and forget about sanctions. This means simply stopping – giving up (the territory – ed.) and forgetting. The sanctions will be lifted, Putin will get the land, and will make a victory out of it for his society. We will never do this, and there is no one in the world who can push us to do this, Zelensky summed up.
Zelensky and Trump to hold telephone talks
A telephone conversation between US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled for July 19. It will be their first phone call since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It comes amid concerns from the EU about Donald Trump's policies on Russia's war against Ukraine and the candidate's possible victory in the US elections.
One source cautioned that schedules are subject to change. There has been some discussion about the appropriate time for a phone call between the Republican candidate and the Ukrainian president. Political analysts believe the goal of the call is for Zelensky to test the waters and get an opportunity to say that Trump will continue to support Ukraine. At the same time, the goal for Trump is to preserve the current strategic uncertainty about peace in Ukraine (he will bring peace, and quickly, but it is unclear how).
Everyone needs a phone call not to stop the war, but to extract favorable wording in front of voters/Ukrainians.
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