Head of State Volodymyr Zelensky is not going to back down from his recent words that the United States is ready to provide security guarantees to Ukraine only after the Defense Forces withdraw from Donbas. Against this background, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the Ukrainian leader of lying, but the president made it clear that he was telling the truth.
Points of attention
- The President of Ukraine clarifies that Congress will vote on the guarantees after the war ends, linking the timeline to the withdrawal of troops from Donbas.
- The condition for the end of the war today, according to Zelenskyy, is the provision of security guarantees after Ukraine leaves Donbas, shaping the course of negotiations.
Zelensky rebuffed Rubio
According to the Ukrainian leader, the truth is that most of the iceberg is not visible, but he speaks about the peace process absolutely frankly.
One can have different views on this, but all the signals that were present throughout the entire negotiation process indicate that, and this is not only my analysis, it sounds absolutely correct, that we will be able to receive security guarantees from the US not before the ceasefire, not before the end of the war, but after our troops withdraw from Donbas.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine
The head of state made it clear that official Kyiv expects to agree on security guarantees before the end of hostilities.
In addition, the recovery package is still in focus.
According to Zelensky, the guarantees will come into effect after a vote by Congress, and Congress will vote after the war ends.
But, nevertheless, we were told that the question is not when this comes into force, but when these guarantees are given to us. The guarantees are given to us precisely after we leave Donbas. And this is the condition for the end of the war today, — explained the President of Ukraine.
