Before Trump-Putin talks, Ukraine rules out ‘gifting land to occupier’

With US and Russian leaders acceptable to conscionable successful Alaska adjacent week, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns deals without his state volition not bring peace.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ruled retired Ukraine ceding onshore to Russia and demanded his state instrumentality portion successful negotiations successful comments made earlier planned talks betwixt the leaders of Russia and the United States.

In a video shared connected societal media connected Saturday, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was acceptable for “real decisions” that could bring a “dignified peace” but stressed determination could beryllium nary usurpation of the constitution connected territorial issues.

“Ukrainians volition not acquisition their onshore to the occupier,” helium said, informing that “decisions without Ukraine” would not bring peace.

“They volition not execute anything. These are stillborn decisions. They are unworkable decisions. And we each request existent and genuine peace. Peace that radical volition respect,” added Zelenskyy, whose state has been warring disconnected a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022.

His comments came hours aft US President Donald Trump said a bid woody would impact “some swapping of territories” arsenic helium announced a gathering connected Friday with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, successful the US authorities of Alaska to sermon the warfare successful Ukraine.

Tens of thousands of radical person been killed since Russia launched its penetration of Ukraine, which besides forced millions of radical to fly their homes.

Three rounds of negotiations betwixt Russia and Ukraine this twelvemonth person failed to carnivore fruit, and it remains unclear whether a acme would bring bid immoderate closer.

On Thursday, Putin said helium considers a gathering with Zelenskyy imaginable but the conditions for specified negotiations indispensable beryllium close and the prerequisites for this are inactive acold from being met.

The Russian president did not outline his conditions, but previously, the Kremlin has insisted that Ukraine springiness up the territories Russia occupies, Western nations halt supplying Ukraine with weapons and they exclude Ukraine from rank successful the NATO subject alliance.

“There has been a batch of speculation implicit what a ceasefire statement could look similar successful which the lines of interaction betwixt Russia and Ukraine could beryllium frozen for a fig of years,” Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javad, reporting from Moscow, said.

“It is besides not wide whether the Russian request that NATO’s ambitions successful Ukraine should beryllium everlastingly quashed is really going to beryllium met.”

‘A challenging process’

Ukraine and its European allies person agelong opposed immoderate statement that involves ceding occupied territory, but Putin has repeatedly said immoderate woody indispensable necessitate Ukraine to relinquish immoderate of the territories Russia has seized.

Russia declared 4 Ukrainian regions that it does not afloat power – Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Luhansk – its territory successful 2022 and besides claims the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which it annexed successful 2014.

Putin adjutant Yuri Ushakov said the talks betwixt the presidents of Russia and the US adjacent week volition “focus connected discussing options for achieving a semipermanent peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis”.

“This volition evidently beryllium a challenging process, but we volition prosecute successful it actively and energetically,” Ushakov said.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland, a adjacent state of Ukraine, said connected Friday that a intermission successful the struggle could beryllium close.

“There are definite signals, and we besides person an intuition that possibly a frost successful the struggle – I don’t privation to accidental the end, but a frost successful the struggle – is person than it is further away,” Tusk said astatine a quality league aft talks with Zelenskyy. “There are hopes for this.”

The Alaska acme would beryllium the archetypal betwixt sitting US and Russian presidents since Joe Biden met Putin successful Geneva successful June 2021.

Trump and Putin past sat unneurotic successful 2019 astatine a Group of 20 acme successful Japan during Trump’s archetypal term. They person spoken by telephone respective times since Trump returned to the White House successful January.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies