Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday, in response to US President Donald Trump’s calls for Ukraine to organize elections, declared that he is ready for elections at any time. However, he pointed out that during the martial law declared in Ukraine due to the Russian invasion, elections cannot be organized. Originally, Zelensky’s term of office was supposed to end in May 2024, the Sky News station reminded, writes TASR. “Organizing elections at the time of airstrikes would be impossible, as well as counting votes. Population movements and the departure of many Ukrainians from the state make the system for remote voting and updating electoral lists impossible.” wrote Zelenskyj on the social network.
Zelenskyy reminded that Ukraine remains committed to real peace and everything depends on whether Russia is ready to stop the bloodshed and prevent a renewal of war. In this context, he informed that Ukraine, together with its European partners, is preparing an improved version of the peace plan, which they will present to the United States in the near future. “Together with the American side, we expect to make potential steps as feasible as possible,” he added. In February, Trump criticized Zelensky for not calling the election and called him “dictator”accusing the Kyiv government of using the war to postpone the elections. Similar calls for elections also come from Moscow.
This week, in an interview with Politico magazine, Trump reiterated that it is time for Ukraine to hold elections. “They’re using the war to not hold elections, but I think the Ukrainian people should have that option. Maybe Zelenskyy would win. I don’t know who would win, but they haven’t had elections for a long time. They talk about democracy, but they’re getting to the point where it’s not democracy anymore,” Trump declared. In this regard, the President of the European Council, António Costa, in response to Trump’s words, said that allies must behave as allies and respect the democratic choice of Ukrainians, while they must not interfere in the country’s internal political affairs.
