WASHINGTON, Dec 21 Volodymyr Zelensky says he doesn't know what a «just peace» with Russia looks like, but I am sure that it excludes compromises in matters of territory and sovereignty.
Shortly before that, Zelensky nodded in response to US President Joe Biden's remark about his openness to the search for a «just world.»
«A just world? I don't know. I don't know what a just world is. It's a very philosophical description,» he said at a joint press conference.
«For each of us, a just world looks different. For me, as a president, a just world means the inadmissibility of compromises regarding the sovereignty, freedom and territorial integrity of my country, reparation for all the damage caused by Russian aggression,» he added.
Biden made it clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin's unpreparedness for this remains the main obstacle to a settlement, and expressed confidence that Ukraine, with Western help, can prevail on the battlefield.
«I really want to win together. No, I don't want to, but I'm sure of it,» Zelensky said in turn.
Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and, on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage — significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The ultimate goal of the operation, according to the supreme commander, is “the liberation of Donbass and the creation of conditions that would guarantee the security of Russia itself.”
At the same time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that as the West more long-range weapons, the geographical tasks of the special operation are moving further and further away from the current line.