Zelenskyy 'willing to step down' in return for Ukraine's NATO accession
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday he'd be prepared to stand down if it meant Ukraine achieving peace and securing NATO membership.
"If you really need me to step down as president to achieve peace, I'm willing to do it," Zelenskyy said. "I'd be prepared to swap the presidency for NATO membership, if those are the conditions," he said at a government officials' forum in Kyiv.
The comment appeared to be directed at US President Donald Trump, who labelled the Ukrainian president a "dictator" with a "4%" approval rating earlier this week, and urged elections to be held in Ukraine.
The forum took place on the eve of the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskyy said he's "focused on Ukraine's security today, not in 20 years" and that he's "not going to be in power for decades".
"We'll be discussing our strategy, but not for the next couple of years, just for the next few weeks. It's crucial that we talk about the security guarantees for Ukraine, starting with Europe, and without a doubt, we also need the United States to be involved," he said.
When asked by Euronews' Sasha Vakulina what decisions would be made during the European Commission and the leaders of the Baltic countries' visit to Kyiv on Monday, Zelenskyy said, "I don't want to give too much of a spoiler today."
We have firm stances on supporting Ukraine. There's a separate conference and assignment for the prime minister and the speaker of the parliament, as I mentioned.
"I'll be focusing on the support packages, and there'll be real decisions, actual amounts of money, real military aid, and real economic sanctions against Russia," Zelenskyy concluded.
The US had previously put forward a proposal that would give the US access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals in exchange for ongoing support from the US government. The Ukrainian leader rejected the deal because he said it didn't provide sufficient security guarantees to prevent Russian attacks.
The Ukrainian leader acknowledged that Ukraine might have to sign an economic pact with the US if it guarantees ongoing support for the country.
“Fair dinkum, if your conditions are, ‘We won't give you a fair go if you don't sign an agreement,’ then it's as clear as day, mate. If we're forced and we can't survive without it, then we should probably give it a go ... I just want a yarn with President Trump."
However, Zelenskyy said he wouldn't sign a US aid deal that "would be paid off by ten generations of Ukrainians."
"We can't treat grants as debts, no matter what anyone thinks," said Zelenskyy, referring to Washington's suggestion for Kyiv to repay the aid it received while defending itself against Moscow's war.
Posting Komentar