Ukraine President Zelenskyy soften stance in interview with ABC
In an exclusive interview with David Muir of the ABC News, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was asked if he would go with the 3 conditions set by Russia to end the war: change constitution to give up joining NATO, recognise Crimea as part of Russia and recognise the independence of 2 separatist region in the east.
He answered as per transcribed below:
Regarding nato, I have cool down regarding question long time ago, after we understood that Russia is not good with it, NATO is not ready to accept Ukraine. the alliance is afraid of controversial things and confrontation with Russia. I never wanted to be a country that is begging something on it’s knees. We are not going to be that country, and I don’t want to be that president
I’m talking security guarantees, I think that items regarding temporary occupied territories, and on recognised republics that have not been recognised by anyone but Russia, this psuedo republics, but we can discuss and find a compromise on how this territories will live on.
What is important to me how the people in those territories are going to live, who want to be part of Ukraine. Who in Ukraine will say that will want to have them in, the question is more difficult than simply acknowledging them.
This is another ultimatum, and we are not prepared for ultimatums.
What need to be done is President Putin is start talking, start the dialogue; instead of living in the information bubble without oxygen, I think thats where he is, he is in this bubble. He is getting this information and you don’t know how realistic this information is he is getting. I think its a bit like in the smoke and mirror situation.
Thus it is significant that Ukraine is now officially acknowledging that it would be impossible at current junction to join NATO – one of the biggest trigger of the conflict.
It is also a change of tone for Zelenskyy to soften his stance to address the issue of Crimea and Donbass to be something that can be discuss and to find a compromise, as opposed to the previous stance which unyieldingly view Crimea and Donbass to be Ukrainian territory and it must be returned to Ukraine.