'Peace deal can't be signed in Munich' — Zelensky sets out condition for talks with Putin
Ukraine is not talking about any peace deal now, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 14.
"Today, we are not talking about any peace agreement. Frankly to say, it is unfortunate," Zelensky said.
"The war has been going on for three years, there have been many deaths, much has been destroyed, especially lives. All this was brought by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and him alone."
The president said that Ukraine needs the firm support of the U.S. and a "strong" President Donald Trump, who will be on Kyiv's side.
His remarks came days after Trump held separate calls with Putin and Zelensky. Trump called Putin first on Feb. 12, saying later that the two leaders agreed that negotiations to end the war in Ukraine will start "immediately."
According to Zelensky, a peace deal "can only be about a plan to end the war" which should be agreed between Ukraine and the U.S. president, and backed by both sides. He also reiterated the importance of Europe's role in the potential deal.
"A peace deal cannot be signed in Munich because it is Munich. We remember what things were signed here. I do not repeat such things," Zelensky added, recalling the infamous Munich meeting when Germany, the U.K., France, and Italy came to an agreement that allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland in western Czechoslovakia.
Zelensky said he was ready to meet with the Russian president only after there is a joint plan with Trump and the EU.
"I am ready to meet only in this case. And we will sit down with Putin and stop the war," Zelensky said.
A day earlier, Kremlin claimed that Russia has started forming a group for talks with the U.S., including on the war with Ukraine.
Zelensky and Trump also agreed to begin working toward ending Russia's war, according to Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine's Presidential Office.
The Kyiv Independent
