Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he will not sign a peace agreement with Russia unless robust security guarantees are provided by its Western allies, mostly the US.
In his New Year’s Eve state address, Zelenskyy said that a peace agreement is 90 per cent ready, but the remaining 10 per cent is crucial, requiring the intervention, cooperation and commitment of the international community, including the United States and Europe.
“The peace agreement is 90 per cent ready. Ten per cent remains. And that is far more than just numbers,” Zelenskyy said in the address. “Those are the 10 per cent that will determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe,” he added.
Criticising the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, the Ukrainian leader accused the latter of not wanting to end the conflict.
“I am not in favour of signing weak agreements which would allow the conflict to flare up further in the coming months,” Zelenskyy said, adding that his signature will only be on a “strong agreement”.
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“My signature will be placed on a strong agreement,” he said, adding that signatures “placed on weak agreements only fuel the war”.
The remarks come after his latest peace talks with US President Donald Trump in Florida ended without having reached a conclusion
The Ukrainian President also accused Russian authorities of posing security threats to the EU and other NATO member states, an accusation that Moscow has strongly rejected.
Reiterating his intention to end the war with Russia, Zelenskyy insisted he didn’t want to sign an agreement that would “destabilise Ukraine after the war was over”.
In his address to his nation, the Ukrainian President asserted that Ukraine wanted the nearly four-year war with Russia to end – but not at just about any cost.
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