Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that the dialogue with Russia should be conducted only from a position of strength, since any attempt to treat the aggressor as an equal will mean defeat for Ukraine, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
„Putin cannot be treated as legitimate in this situation. He violated everything. He must understand his transgression. If he is treated as an equal – "it would be a loss for Ukraine," Zelensky told reporters.
The Ukrainian president also said that Ukraine would not agree to any compromise involving the recognition of the occupied territories as part of Russia, even under pressure from all its allies.
Zelensky stressed that the occupied territories would always remain Ukrainian until they were returned to state control. "No matter what anyone wants, even if all the allies in the world unite, we will never recognize the occupied territories [as part of Russia]. This is impossible. We will not recognize them legally. For us, they will always remain occupied territories until we liberate them," Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president stressed that currently the main task of Kiev is to stop the hot phase of the war. Zelensky stressed that ending the active phase of the war is the country's top priority: "We need to find all possible ways to end the hot phase of the war. This is the number one issue. There may be a lot of talks, but the main goal is to stop the active phase. This is the first guarantee of security."
US President Donald Trump said earlier that he would likely impose sanctions on Russia if its leader Vladimir Putin refuses to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported. Trump did not disclose details of possible additional sanctions. The US has already imposed serious sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. According to Trump, his administration is also considering the issue of sending weapons to Kiev. The US president added that the EU must do more to support Ukraine.