Ukraine will not accept any peace deals made between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, if Kyiv is left out of negotiations, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
The Ukrainian president also warned world leaders “against trusting Putin’s claims of readiness to end the war”.
His comments come a day after both Russian and Ukrainian leaders held separate talks with Trump over the three-year conflict.
In a post on social media following a call with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Zelensky said: “We discussed the conditions needed for a lasting and real peace in Ukraine and agreed that no negotiations with Putin can begin without a united position from Ukraine, Europe, and the US.”
The Ukrainian president also warned world leaders ‘against trusting Putin’s claims of readiness to end the war’
Reuters
“I informed the Prime Minister about my conversation with President Trump, and we discussed key messages and the need to coordinate the positions of all Europeans to achieve successful outcomes for the whole of Europe.
“I emphasised that Ukraine must negotiate from a position of strength, with strong and reliable security guarantees, and that NATO membership would be the most cost-effective for partners. Another key guarantee is serious investment in Ukraine’s defence industry.”
Earlier today, Zelensky said that he wants to agree to a plan with the US to “stop Putin” before beginning talks with Russia.
“The Ukraine-America meetings are a priority for us,” said Zelensky. “And only after such meetings, after a plan to stop Putin has been worked out, I think it is fair to talk to the Russians.”
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Putin and TrumpGETTYZelensky and senior Ukrainian officials are undertaking a series of meetings this week with Western allies at the Munich Security Conference.
During the discussion with Tusk, Zelensky said he also “warned world leaders against trusting Putin’s claims of readiness to end the war”.
Yesterday, Trump and Putin had a “lengthy and highly productive” phone call where they agreed that negotiations over Ukraine would start “immediately”.
“We will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now,” Trump said online.
The war in Ukraine will mark its third anniversary on February 24REUTERS
Sir Keir Starmer meets with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr ZelenskyGetty
Trump also spoke with Zelensky in a call that the Ukrainian leader had described as “meaningful” and broad.
However, he said that it was “not very pleasant” to find out that Trump spoke to Putin before himself.
Sir Keir Starmer said that it was “really important that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position”.
“Nobody wants the conflict to continue and Ukrainians – more than anybody – want the conflict to end, but we must make sure Ukraine is at the heart of this,” Starmer told broadcasters on Thursday.
“There can’t be negotiations around Ukraine without Ukraine being at the heart of it.”