Amidst continuing public nausea with US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky has insisted he is willing to step down in exchange for his country's NATO membership.
Zelensky still seemed confused earlier this week that it was not included in consultations between the Russians and the White House delegation and the White House delegation, but the peace process in the public It appears to be intended to negotiate from outside.
At a Kiev press conference on Sunday, the Ukrainian leader said he was willing to resign from his office to support the peace process. However, he quickly warned, according to the Kremlin, by suggesting that this would come in the form of joining NATO, a Russian non-star.
“If there is peace in Ukraine, if you really need to leave my post, I'm ready. …I can trade it for NATO,” Zelensky I said All London Daily telegraph.
Zelensky's comments came in the wake of US President Donald Trump, branding a “dictator” to cancel presidential and legislative elections last year under martial law, which was implemented following the Russian invasion.
Ukrainian leaders denied the characterization, but he claimed he was not angry at it, saying, “I wouldn't call Donald Trump's words a compliment… I didn't offend him. But the dictators are. I am not. I am a legally elected president.”
The US, Kiev's leading financial and military aid, suggests that there is no NATO membership. “The United States does not consider Ukraine's NATO membership to be a realistic outcome of the negotiated settlement,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegses said last week.
NATO membership then appears to be able to stick with carrots to keep Russia faithful to future peace agreements if Moscow violates the contract, by conditioning Ukraine's instant automatic membership. This has been done, but this has not yet been published by Washington. .
At a press conference, Zelensky also addressed the issue of mineral rights in Ukraine. President Trump suggested that it could be used to collect American taxpayers' money to support the country's war effort.
The Ukrainian leader on Sunday said that despite a Kiev briefing scheduled for the weekend of Zelensky “not ready” to discuss the mineral trade, “we are making progress,” he said. He said the government was in charge of discussions with Washington. day.
But Zelensky rejects the notion that Ukraine “owes” America for the hundreds of billions spent on the conflict, and does not sign a transaction paid by 10 generations of Ukrainians. Zelensky continued to demand that he be allowed to meet with President Trump to discuss it before his meeting with Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian leader's strategy to air his position in the media apparently disrupts some feathers in the Trump administration. His mouth varies depending on the context.
Journalist Katherine Hellidge speaks to Rubio I said He and his team had spoken to Zelensky about a “joint venture” on minerals, saying it could represent a form of security assurance instead of American boots on the ground.
“Two days later I read that Zelensky said, 'I refused to trade.' I told him, “Well, we haven't.” That's not what happened at that meeting,” Rubio said, adding that President Trump would not accept such a “refutation to refute.”
