Zelenski believes that Putin will not go to Türkiye out of fear, but gives him “a small probability”
President Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, does not believe that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, will go to Turkey to meet with him this Thursday because “he will be afraid”, but he has left “a small probability” to the Russian president so he can demonstrate that he is “brave” and considers that Donald Trump’s presence would be of great help.
In an interview with several international media, including French French, Zelenski explains the meaning of the encounter that he wants to keep Thursday in Turkey with Putin, with which he assumes that it is “impossible” that both may agree, especially now, but “find a format to end the war.”
“There are unconditional things on which we have to agree and then the technical groups will discuss for seven, fifteen hours,” he says, before insisting that for the situation to advance there must be “a high unconditional fire.”
He explains that if he meets with Putin “we have to go out with a political victory, a high fire, an exchange of all prisoners or something of that style. If it does not come, it does not seek a political victory.” In fact, President Ukraine emphasizes that the base is that high fire “although there are violations” as has already happened in the past, because in any case that reduced the long -range bombings and would be for the world “the sign that there are efforts to put an end to war.”
But from the outset, Zelenski advances that Russians will seek excuses to justify Putin’s refusal to go to Türkiye. In that context, he estimates that Trump’s arrival in Türkiye “will activate the arrival of Putin” that “will be more likely.” That is why he affirms that “Trump can be of great help, if he came,” since he would leave Putin in evidence: “That will appear as a total defeat for him.”
Asked about the possibility that the US president will interview first with Putin, Zelenski replies that “everyone understands that they cannot agree on us without us, anyway. And that nothing will come out of that encounter, say what they say.”
And to the question of the pressure that the US administration puts on kyiv, when the same is not doing with Moscow, President Ukraine first tries to remove iron from the matter: “Everyone tries to put pressure.” But then it emphasizes that “what we need, above all, is that Trump understands that Putin lies. And we, on our side, must be intelligent and show that we are not the ones who slow down the process, even when it comes to making sometimes uncomfortable commitments.” (EFE)
