The presence of foreign troops must also be an essential part of future security guarantees for Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi declared on Monday. According to him, the United States offers Ukraine strong guarantees for 15 years with the possibility of extension, but Kiev is already asking for guarantees for a longer period. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
- The Ukrainian president emphasizes the need for foreign troops in Ukraine.
- Security guarantees from the US are agreed, awaiting confirmation.
- Ambiguities persist over the issues of territory and the nuclear power plant.
Deployment of foreign soldiers in Ukraine
After talks with US President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday, Zelensky said that the security guarantees between the US and Ukraine are now 100 percent agreed and only the details regarding their validity are being negotiated. Sky News pointed out that it is not yet clear what exactly the United States is offering Ukraine as security guarantees.
According to his statement, the Ukrainian president wants the peace agreement to end the war with Russia in any case to include the deployment of foreign soldiers in Ukraine as part of security guarantees. Moscow has rejected such an option for a long time. In an interview with TASS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that if European countries within the so-called coalition of the willing sent their troops to Ukraine, Russia would consider them a legitimate target.
territorial issues and the Zaporizhia power plant
“I am convinced that the presence of international troops will be a real guarantee of security and a strengthening of the security guarantees that our partners already provide us,” Zelenskyy told journalists.
According to him, two questions remain unresolved in the peace negotiations, which concern Ukrainian territory and the future status of the Russian-occupied Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. “That’s why I said that this 20-point plan is 90 percent ready,” he explained his statement on Sunday.
Zelenskyi: On the one hand, Putin claims that he wants peace, but on the other hand, he attacks Ukraine
Zelenskyi also said on Monday that Russia’s attacks on Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s declarations of war in domestic politics do not correspond to his “peaceful rhetoric” addressed to Trump.
“On the one hand, he tells the president of the United States that he wants to end the war and that this is his wish. But on the other hand, he openly communicates in the media all his messages that he is ready and wants to continue the war – he attacks us with missiles, openly talks about it, celebrates the destruction of civilian infrastructure, gives instructions to his generals, where to go and what to occupy, and so on,” said the Ukrainian president.
Before Sunday’s meeting with Zelensky in Florida, Trump initiated a phone call with Putin. After that, he publicly expressed his belief that the head of the Kremlin really wants to end the conflict. According to the Kremlin, Trump will speak with Putin again soon.
