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November 17, 2024 | 01:11 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine must do whatever it takes to ensure the war with Russia ends next year through diplomacy. Zelensky made the comment at a critical time after Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election and Russia's significant victory on the battlefield.
However, Zelensky said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not interested in agreeing to a peace deal, and believes that it would be easier for Moscow to sit and talk while continuing the war.
"From our side, we have to do everything to end this war next year, end it through diplomatic means," Zelensky said in a radio interview broadcast in Ukraine on Saturday.
Moscow's Ambassador to the UN in Geneva said on Thursday that Russia would be open to negotiations to end the war if initiated by Trump, although he added that this must acknowledge the "facts on the ground".
Moscow uses this phrase to imply that Ukraine must hand over four territories partially occupied by Russian forces and claimed by Russia as a whole.
Zelensky has repeatedly stated since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 that peace cannot be built until all Russian forces are expelled and all territories seized by Moscow, including Crimea, are returned.
However, Ukraine's return to its internationally recognized 1991 borders was not mentioned in the president's "victory plan" publicly unveiled last month.
Zelensky said the war is likely to end sooner under Trump's leadership, who often stated during his campaign that he would quickly end the conflict, without providing specific details.
Zelensky said US law prevents him from meeting Trump before his inauguration on January 20.
"We will do everything on our part (to ensure the meeting). We had a very good meeting in September," Zelensky said, adding that he would speak with Trump himself, not with an envoy or advisor.
Situation in Eastern Ukraine
Zelensky acknowledged that the situation in eastern Ukraine is difficult, and Russia is making progress.
Russian forces are currently advancing towards Kurakhove, which houses a thermal power plant and is only 7 km from Pokrovsk, a major city that has been one of Ukraine's logistical centers during the war.
In the Ukraine war in the east, Russia is advancing at its fastest pace since the start of the war in 2022.
Zelensky said the situation is tough for several reasons, one of which is a year-long delay in equipping brigades, partly due to months of delay by the US Congress last winter in approving aid for Ukraine.
However, he said some of these brigades will now enter the battlefield.
"To stop the Russian army, new reserve units, equipped with the equipment we have been waiting for a long time, will now arrive," he said.
Ukraine has sought to increase its own weapons production to reduce dependence on allies. Zelensky said Ukraine is currently producing four different missiles, which he said are now in the testing phase.
REUTERS
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