Zelensky: American security guarantees are vital/Washington’s withdrawal from NATO is a disaster for Europe

According to Isna, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an interview with the American podcast “Lex Friedman” that was published on Sunday, said that Ukrainians are counting on “Donald Trump”, the president-elect of the United States, to force Moscow to end its war, and claimed that if Washington If Russia leaves the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance, it will create tension in Europe.

Almost three years after the start of the Ukraine war, the election of Trump, who will return to the White House on January 20, has raised hopes for a diplomatic solution to end the war, but also worries in Kiev that a quick peace could come at a high price. has created

Zelensky used his three-hour interview, published on YouTube, to call for Ukraine’s membership in NATO, stressing his belief that a ceasefire without security guarantees for Kiev would only give Russia time to rearm for a new attack.

Ukraine’s leader said the Trump-era White House has a vital role in providing security guarantees, stressing that he and the US president-elect see the need for a “peace through strength” approach to ending the conflict.

“America leaves, Putin will destroy Europe”

While implicitly acknowledging that Kiev’s European allies are militarily too weak to manage the situation alone, he added: “Without the United States, security guarantees are not possible. I mean these security guarantees that can prevent Russian aggression.”

According to Reuters, Zelensky further claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not interested in serious negotiations to end the war and that the Kremlin leader should be forced to stop and agree to a lasting peace.

The battlefield situation for Ukraine is at its most challenging since the early months of the Russian invasion in 2022, with the small forces of Kiev losing more and more villages in the Donbas month by month.

Although Zelensky said it was up to the United States to determine Washington’s future, he warned that any decision by the Trump-era Washington to withdraw from NATO would weaken the military alliance and “embolden Putin in Europe.” “I can easily say that if this is done (withdrawing from NATO), Putin will destroy Europe,” he said.

Ukraine’s leader said he must sit down with Trump to determine a solution to stop the Kremlin, and that European governments should also have a voice in the process before Kiev sits down to negotiate with the Russian side.

Terms for ending the war

In his interview, Zelensky said that he is ready to resolve the conflict in Ukraine with NATO guarantees for areas controlled by Kiev.

The president added: “NATO can operate in the part that is under the control of Ukraine. Can we agree on this? I am convinced that we can. This is a small success for us, but if we see a diplomatic way to end the war, this is the first thing. The second item is a package of weapons.

He also said that Ukraine needs security guarantees if a ceasefire is concluded. “If we talk about a ceasefire, we must clearly understand that there are security guarantees for the territories under our control,” Zelenskiy added.

Zelensky is not invited to Trump’s event

In the continuation of this conversation, the leader of Ukraine added that Trump mentioned during their conversation at the end of last year that he would organize an official visit to the United States for Ukrainian officials soon after he took office.

“He told me on the phone that it would be one of his first visits,” he said. This is important to him. I hope to meet.”

The president of Ukraine also said that he will attend Trump’s inauguration on January 20 if he receives an official invitation. Zelensky is among the officials who have not yet been invited, and earlier the White House confirmed this situation and said that he can come to America if he wishes.

“I would love to go, but frankly, I can’t come like this during the war because President Trump hasn’t directly invited me,” Zelensky said. If he invites me, I will come.”

The role of North Korea in the war

Zelensky also claimed that 3,800 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded in this war so far, but he believes that Pyongyang has the capacity to send thousands more if it wants to.

He also said that North Korea has so far sent 3.7 million artillery shells to Russia, which he compared with the 1 million shells provided by the European Union last year. Reuters News agency did not independently confirm these figures.

Zelensky’s escape from the Russian language

During this interview, Volodymyr Zelensky explained to Lex Friedman his refusal to give a full interview in Russian. It is the only language that both he and the host of the program speak fluently and could make the conversations easier for the audience around the world to understand.

In the introduction to the podcast released on Sunday, Friedman went out of his way to explain why the three-hour conversation was conducted in a mix of Ukrainian, English and Russian, and how listeners can change the files and subtitles to their liking.

The host of the program said in his opening words: “Our conversation will be more effective and effective if we speak in Russian.” In response to this statement, Zelensky said that he speaks Russian perfectly but does not want to do it now.

“The people who attack us speak Russian,” Zelensky said. They attack people who, at the same time, recently said that it is actually for the defense of the Russian-speaking people… and that is why I do not respect the leader, the manager of today’s Russia, nor its people. This is how it is now.”

Zelensky argued that when the conflict escalated in 2022, he addressed the Russians in their language, but “they didn’t listen” and only “spoke in the language of weapons.”

Despite Zelensky’s reluctance to speak Russian, during the interview he repeatedly struggled to better express himself, and eventually Friedman admitted that “the most dynamic and powerful conversation between us was in Russian.”

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