Zelenskyy on his conversation with Trump: Ukraine will not accept any negotiations without its participation

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump. Photo: AP

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine will not recognise any bilateral peace talks on the war without its participation. He also stressed that European partners should be at the negotiating table.

He said this to journalists, commenting on his conversation with US President Donald Trump, according to «Suspilne».

«I articulate this very clearly to our partners. Any bilateral talks about Ukraine, I'm not talking about other topics, they are free to do so, any bilateral talks about Ukraine without us, we will not accept», he said.

Speaking about his conversation with Trump, Zelenskyy said it was a constructive almost hour-long conversation. During the conversation, Trump suggested that Putin seemed to want peace and an end to the war.

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«And he said: «I know you want it too». I told him that you are talking to Putin as the leader of the Russian state, and I am talking to you and I think of him as an enemy. And it seems to me that I am in a greater reality, I said, and that's why I don't trust», Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The President of Ukraine told Trump that he wants to make Putin end the war fairly for Ukraine, but he does not believe that this can be done easily.

«That's why I said that security guarantees are definitely a priority for us. And without you, we don't see what kind of guarantees they are, let's talk», he said.

According to him, Trump would like to talk to the two presidents at the same time.

«That is, in the conversation, he did not say that Putin and Russia were a priority, and today we trust these words. And that's why I don't accept this call that it was a priority for him to talk to Russia first, although it's really not very nice in any case, because you know how Ukrainian society, how all of us, and Europeans react, that Ukraine is first and foremost, and nothing can be about Ukraine without Ukraine», the president said.

He stressed that European countries should be present at the negotiations. According to him, today, 80% of the price of war is paid by Ukraine and Europe, 20% is the contribution of the United States.

«We cannot say that Europe does not support. Europe is very supportive. America is by far the most important donor, compared to any country in the world, they have given us the most, we are grateful for that, but you cannot compare America with Europe, it would not be very fair, these are our two allies, Europe is investing very heavily, they have helped us a lot. And they continue to do so, it is important», the president said.

According to him, European partners are concerned about the lack of clear signals from the United States regarding their participation in the peace process.

«That is, everyone understands that America, Ukraine and Russia — this is the format of the negotiations. But where is Europe? I am also very interested in Europe being there. We cannot predict how it will be today, but we must be strong with you», he said.

The date of Zelenskyy's possible meeting with Trump has not yet been agreed upon.

«If calls are calls, I understand everything, but meetings are a priority for us. Ukraine, America, and only after such meetings, after working out a plan to stop Putin, I think it is fair to talk to the Russians», he said.

Earlier today, US President Donald Trump had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In particular, they discussed Ukraine and the Middle East, and agreed that the war must be stopped. Later, Donald Trump spoke on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

As a reminder, the United States is engaged in constructive negotiations to avert a full-scale war with Ukraine and the Russian Federation.