Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed in an interview with the French media, including Le Monde, that the Ukrainian people’s will is required to resolve any issue pertaining to the country’s territorial integrity.
“A referendum? This is what the Ukrainian people should want. “I will say honestly: this is not the best option because we are dealing with Putin, and it will be a victory for him if he seizes part of our territories,” Zelensky stated.
Zelensky: We can return our territories through diplomatic means
He acknowledged that liberating all Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories with force and weapons costs us a lot of time and human lives. Therefore, he suggested that “we can return our territories through diplomatic means.”
The Ukrainian President stressed that no one has officially made any offers to Ukraine, and that the government cannot cede its territories to anyone because doing so would violate the Constitution.
When asked if a referendum on the cession of Ukrainian land was possible, Zelensky responded that this would require the Ukrainian people to want it.
“I’ll tell you honestly, this is not the best option because we’re dealing with Putin, and he’ll win part of our territories,” Zelensky said.
He added that if the war freezes, he (Putin ed.) might launch another attack later.
In an interview with French journalists, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that, if there were no «half-sanctions» and «half-solutions», the international community could have already stopped Putin.
“Ukraine is fighting for its own survival. If the entire world shared our perspective, I am confident that we would have already halted the Russian invasion. If we did not have half-sanctions and half-solutions, we would have stopped Putin already. Of course, we would have stopped him. The world is much stronger; it is much bigger, much more powerful, much more principled, and much more economically strong. But half-sanctions. Everything is ‘half,'” Zelensky stated.
Ukraine is open to Russia’s participation in the Second Summit on Peace in Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelensky stated that most countries around the world support Russia’s participation in the second Summit on Peace in Ukraine. As a result, Ukraine cannot be opposed to this initiative, he said.
“The majority of people worldwide now concur that the absence of Russian delegates from the second summit will hinder significant progress. Given that Russia and Ukraine are the opposing parties in this war, it is widely believed that Russian representatives must attend the second summit.
I replied that we tried to negotiate and that I don’t want them to hamper our joint work on a shared strategy. When we get together to prepare, it will be on the table. Therefore, we cannot oppose their existence as the world demands it, and it is critical that we put an end to it.
These conditions will be in place. This does not imply that we will be standing at the borders in 1991. Yes, I think this is fair, and full restoration of our territorial integrity is necessary for a just peace for Ukraine. However, this does not mean that we will achieve this solely through military means. As long as Russia wants to fight, we will be on the frontlines! We will have a strategy; the world will support it; most nations will agree with it; and it will be on the table. If Russia desires, please allow us to resolve these disputes through diplomatic means.”
Zelensky stated that the Ukrainian government should have developed a plan based on the Peace Formula by the end of November, following its public presentation at the first Peace Summit.
On 23 July, EU High Representative Josep Borrell stated that Ukraine would continue to seek ways to hold the next peace conference with Russia’s participation, but not on the terms set by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
