Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday vowed that his country would not accept a deal with Moscow that would allow Russian troops to remain in occupied territory under any circumstances.
Zelenskyy disclosed that Ukrainian forces had already halted the Russian offensive in what he described as the first stage of the conflict. In the second stage, he revealed, Ukraine so everything possible to expel Russian troops from its territory and in the third, he said, the country would move to fully restore its full territorial integrity.
Zelenskyy asserted that he would not accept a ceasefire deal that would allow Russian forces to remain in their current positions ‒ insisting that ‘we will not accept a frozen conflict’ ‒ however, he gave no further details as he addressed the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit on Wednesday afternoon.
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The President also warned that Ukraine would be drawn into a ‘diplomatic quagmire’ like the peace agreement for eastern Ukraine that was brokered by France and Germany in 2015 if he doesn’t insist on getting Russia to do the right thing.
Africa Daily News, New York recalls that in 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and cast its support behind a separatist rebellion in the Donbas region, Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland.
Russian President Vladimir Putin went on to name Ukraine’s recognition of the Russian sovereignty over Crimea and its acknowledgement of the separatist regions’ independence as key conditions for halting hostilities.
Zelenskyy emphasised that Putin must agree to meet him to negotiate any deal to end the fighting.
He said it was important to continue talks, but pointed out that, ‘Until the Russian president signs it or makes an official statement I don’t see the point in such agreements.’
Africa Daily News, New York reports that Zelenskyy’s comments came as Ukraine’s defence ministry disclosed Russia was attempting to increase the tempo of its offensive in the east of the country.
