Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that 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 – this would be a loss for Ukraine“, Zelensky told journalists.
The Ukrainian president also stated that Ukraine will 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 will always remain Ukrainian until they are returned to state control. “No matter what anyone wants, even if all the allies around 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 must find all possible ways to stop 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 probably impose sanctions on Russia if its leader Vladimir Putin refuses to negotiate to end the war in Ukraine, the “Reuters” agency reported. Trump did not provide details on possible additional sanctions. The United States has already imposed severe sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Trump said his administration was also considering sending weapons to Kiev. The US president added that the EU must do more to support Ukraine.