On the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared on Sunday that he would be willing to resign if it meant that Kyiv could finally gain NATO membership. Speaking at a news conference in Kyiv, Zelensky made it clear that ensuring Ukraine’s admission to the alliance is a non-negotiable condition for his continued leadership. “If there is peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to leave my post, I am ready. … I can exchange it for NATO,” he stated.
The Ukrainian leader, who has repeatedly pressed for NATO membership as a crucial element of any deal to end the war, has faced sharp criticism from the new US administration. Zelensky also expressed his desire to meet with US President Donald Trump before Trump’s scheduled summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin—a move that reflects his frustration with the current diplomatic process.
In recent days, Trump and Zelensky have engaged in a war of words. Over the past week, Trump has not only branded Zelensky a “dictator” but also falsely claimed that Ukraine “started” the war and that the Ukrainian leader is unpopular at home, despite independent opinion polls to the contrary. “He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing (Joe) Biden ‘like a fiddle,’” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He continued, “In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump Administration, can do.”
Zelensky, undeterred by these personal attacks, said he was not “offended” by Trump’s comments. “One would be offended by the word ‘dictator,’ if he was a dictator,” he remarked to journalists. He further emphasized his need for mutual understanding and robust security assurances from Trump, stating, “I very much want from Trump an understanding of each other,” and added that “security guarantees” from the US president were “much needed.” Zelensky also urged that Trump meet with him before any summit with Putin, noting that there had been “progress” on a deal to give the United States preferential access to Ukraine’s critical resources.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov lauded the recent dialogue between Trump and Putin—whom he described as two “extraordinary” presidents—as “promising.” Peskov stressed on state TV, “It is important that nothing prevents us from realising the political will of the two heads of state.” However, he firmly ruled out any territorial concessions in a potential settlement, asserting, “The people decided to join Russia a long time ago… No one will ever sell off these territories. That’s the most important thing,” referring to the controversial, Moscow-staged votes in eastern Ukraine dismissed by Kyiv and international observers.
As tensions continue to simmer, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a peace deal that respects Ukraine’s “territorial integrity.” Despite the contrasting approaches from the US and Russia, it remains uncertain whether these diplomatic maneuvers will bring Moscow and Kyiv any closer to a sustainable truce.
AFP
