President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is ready to meet with former US President Donald Trump and discuss his proposals for a war-ending peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, but will not surrender territory or Ukraine’s independence.
In an interview with FOX News, Zelensky said, “Let’s speak with him, let’s give him this possibility to show what steps of his peace formula,” in response to correspondent Benjamin Hill mentioning Trump’s assertion to “end the war in 24 hours” through a joint agreement with Ukraine and Russia if he is re-elected in 2024.
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“I’m ready, of course. If he has a very concrete peace plan, he can share it with me. Yes, we can stop this war if we give Russia Donbas and Crimea. To my mind, our country won't be ready for this peace plan,” Zelensky added.
In a recent interview with The Sun, Zelensky disclosed his readiness to engage with Donald Trump if he were to be elected as the US president and hear his “peace formula.”
Zelensky acknowledged the weariness of Ukrainians from "permanent air raids," shelling, and the destruction of their homes. However, he emphasized that the people are not prepared to accept a peace deal under unfavorable conditions.
Former US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed he could end the war in Ukraine “in 24 hours” if elected. During an interview on the Fox News program“Sunday Morning Futures,” the former US president said he has “a good relationship with both Zelensky and Putin,” and added his opinion that President Biden is not capable of dealing with world leaders.
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During a June “Town Hall” campaign event on Fox News, host Sean Hannity said: “Mr. President, let me ask. Serious question. How do you stop that war in 24 hours?”
He replied: “I will get them into a room, and I know an exact way. You tell one ‘You’re not going to get anything unless you make a deal.’ You tell the other one ‘They’re going to get a lot unless you make a deal.’
“And you just sit them, and you put them, and you have to make a determination.”
Although Trump did not say which one was which, his comments appear to suggest he would force Ukraine to accept the loss of territories illegally occupied and annexed by Russian forces with the threat of rewarding President Putin with even more if they refuse to accept his offer.
Trump’s vies on Russia’s full-scale invasion
Trump’s supposed peace plan began surfacing in the former president’s campaign speeches nearly one year after seemingly supporting Putin’s Feb. 24, 2022, full-scale invasion.
A Politico article dated Feb. 23 (US time), 2022, summarized Trump’s position during the initial hours of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine:
“Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday described Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as ‘genius’ and ‘savvy,’ praising his onetime counterpart for a move that has spurred sanctions and universal condemnation from the U.S. government and its trans-Atlantic allies.”
Politico quotes Trump saying the following: “I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius.’ Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine — Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful,” Trump said in a radio interview with “The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show.” [Trump said:]“He [Putin] used the word ‘independent’ and ‘we’re gonna go out and we’re gonna go in and we’re gonna help keep peace.’ You gotta say that’s pretty savvy.”
In a September interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, when asked about the Trump plan, a visibly agitated Zelensky speaking in Ukrainian said: “If he’s got some smart ideas, he can share them with us, of course. He can publicly share his idea now, not waste time, so as not to lose people, and say, ‘My formula is to stop the war and stop all this tragedy and stop Russian aggression,’ say how he sees it, how to push Russia from our land. Otherwise, he’s not presenting the global idea of peace.”
Zelensky, in an early November interview with NBC News, invited Trump to Kyiv, intending to explain in “24 minutes” why stopping the war in a single day is impossible.
“I invite President Trump if he can come here [to Kyiv], I will need 24 minutes, not more, to explain that he can’t manage this war. He can’t bring peace because of Putin,” said Zelensky.
“But always if he [Trump] is not trying to, not ready to give our territory to this terrible man Putin, if we are not ready to give it, not ready to give our independence he can’t manage [to bring peace in 24 hours].”
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