KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said security guarantees for Kyiv to end Russia’s war would only be effective if the United States provides them, and that he hoped to meet US President-elect Donald Trump soon after his inauguration.
In an interview with US podcaster Lex Fridman published on Sunday (Jan 5), Zelenskyy said Ukrainians were counting on Trump to force Moscow to end its war and that Russia would escalate in Europe if Washington were to quit the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance.
Almost three years after Russia’s invasion, the election of Trump, who returns to the White House on Jan 20, has sparked hope of a diplomatic resolution to stop the war, but also fears in Kyiv that a quick peace could come at a high price.
Zelenskyy used the three-hour interview published on YouTube to call for Ukraine’s NATO membership, emphasising his belief that a ceasefire without security guarantees for Kyiv would merely give Russia time to rearm for a new attack.
The Ukrainian leader said the White House under Trump had a vital role to play in providing security guarantees and asserted that he and the US president-elect saw eye to eye on the need for a “peace through strength” approach to ending the conflict.
“Without the United States, security guarantees are not possible. I mean these security guarantees that can prevent Russian aggression,” he said, tacitly acknowledging that Kyiv’s European allies would be too weak militarily to manage on their own.
