Zelensky proposes to sit down at the negotiating table.
The head of state assured that Ukraine will not comply with the Kremlin's ultimatums, but compromises with the aggressor country are necessary so that civilians stop dying. At the same time, Zelensky mentioned that he «has cooled» on the issue of joining NATO will begin to treat Kiev on equal terms.
According to him, the United States and NATO partners should establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine in order to prevent further missile and bomb attacks on civilian infrastructure. Despite the position of American leader Joe Biden on «closed skies», Vladimir Zelensky said that Kyiv's allies must save the lives of Ukrainians.
In an interview with ABC News, the head of state also called on Vladimir Putin to sit down negotiating table to end the full-scale war in Ukraine.
«What do you want from us? Get off our land. Don't you want to leave now? Sit down with me at the negotiating table. I am available. Sit with me, but not 30 meters, as you greeted Macron, Scholz and others. I am your neighbour. Do not keep me at a distance of 30 meters. I do not bite. I'm a normal person. Sit down with me and let's talk. What are you afraid of?» the President addressed the Russian leader.
Zelensky is confident that the full-scale war that Russia has unleashed can be stopped if the Kremlin begins to treat Kiev on equal terms. In order to prevent civilians from dying in Ukraine, Ukraine and the Russian Federation, according to the president, can find some compromises.
Commenting on Moscow’s demands to recognize Crimea and ORDLO, as well as refuse to join NATO, Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that Kyiv does not intend to comply with the ultimatums of the aggressor country.
«I think that the points about the temporarily occupied territories and ORDLO, which are not recognized by anyone except the Russian Federation, we can discuss and find a compromise … Putin should start talking, start a dialogue, instead of living in an information bubble without oxygen. I think this is where he is», the president continued on the ABC News TV channel.
Vladimir Zelensky also told the journalist that he «has cooled» to the question of Ukraine's entry into NATO, since the North Atlantic Alliance, according to the head of state, is not yet ready to expand at the expense of Kyiv, fearing direct confrontations with Russia. The President also warned that the Russian Federation would not stop at the Ukrainians and the Western countries would be under threat.
«When the boundaries of rights and freedoms are violated and attacked, then you must protect us. Because we are the first. And you will be second. Because the more the beast eats, the more it wants», Zelensky summed up in an interview with ABC News.