Friday, February 25, 2022

Ukraine ready to discuss neutrality, Zelensky says — RT

Accusing the West of leaving Ukraine to face Moscow alone, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday he was not afraid to negotiate an end to the Russian “invasion,” but would need security guarantees to do so.



Speaking in the early hours of the morning from Kiev, Zelensky said he had reached out to “partners” in the West to tell them that Ukraine’s fate was at stake.

“I asked them – are you with us?” Zelensky said. “They answered that they are with us, but they don’t want to take us into the alliance. I’ve asked 27 leaders of Europe, if Ukraine will be in NATO, I’ve asked them directly – all are afraid and did not respond.”

“We were left by ourselves. Who is ready to go to war for us? Honestly, I don’t see anybody. Who is ready to give Ukraine guarantees of NATO membership? Honestly, everybody is afraid,” the president added.

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on Thursday, with President Vladimir Putin declaring a special military operation to “demilitarize and denazify” the country. Moscow has since told Kiev that it would consider negotiating with the Zelensky government if it agrees to discuss neutral status for the country, among other things.

In an address on Friday, Zelensky said he is open to talking about the possibility of a neutral status for Ukraine, but insisted that his country needs third-party guarantees.

“We are not not afraid of Russia, we are not afraid to talk with Russia, talk about everything: security guarantees for our country and a neutral status. But we are not in NATO now – what security guarantees will we have? Which countries will give them?” he said, before adding that there should be talks to bring an end to the Russian military offensive.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that “neutral status and rejection of hosting [offensive] weapons systems” are Putin’s “red lines” for Ukraine and that the ball was now in Kiev's court. 

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6 comments:

  1. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said a total of 137 Ukrainian servicemen were killed and 316 injured in the past 24 hours.

    "Regretfully, according to preliminary estimates we lost 137 our heroes today, including 10 officers. 316 were injured," the president said in a video address to Ukrainians, posted in his Telegram channel.

    Zelensky also confirmed that Kiev had lost control over the Snake Island in the Black Sea. In his words, all Ukrainian servicemen deployed on the island have perished.

    Ukraine has lost control over its Snake Island, located in the Black Sea near the border with Romania, the state border guards service of Ukraine said on Thursday. The service said it had lost contact with Ukrainian border guards and servicemen, stationed on the island, which is part of Ukraine’s Odessa administrative region.

    Snake Island, also known as Serpent Island, is located approximately 35 km off Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, near the Danube Delta. It played an important role during the International Court of Justice’s hearings regarding the territorial dispute between Ukraine and Romania.

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  2. Zelensky Says Russia-Ukraine Dialogue to Cease Hostilities Will Begin Sooner or Later

    "Sooner or later, Russia will have to talk to us, tell us how to end the hostilities and stop this invasion, the sooner the conversation starts, the fewer losses will be", Zelensky said in his address.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Zelensky Appeals to Bucharest 9 Group, Asks for Military Assistance for Ukraine and Sanctions Against Russia

    ReplyDelete
  4. No One in Europe Wishes to Get Into a War With Russia, French Defence Minister Says

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  5. We're defending our state alone: Ukraine president

    Volodymyr Zelensky has made yet another plea to Western allies to help Ukraine and stop Russia's brutal assault.

    "This morning we are defending our state alone. Like yesterday, the world's most powerful forces are watching from afar," Zelensky said in his address to the nation this morning.

    "Was Russia convinced by yesterday's sanctions? We hear in our sky and see on our earth that this was not enough."

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  6. Ankara may close the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits to warships, but Russia will still have the right to use them for the return of its fleet to its base, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday.

    "Ukraine has sent us an official request [to close the straits to Russian warships]. The provisions of the Montreux Convention are very clear and precise. To this day, Turkey has been unhesitatingly complying with the Montreux Convention. It is possible to take measures towards the parties to a war that Turkey is not involved in. Turkey can restrict the passage of warships through the straits. However, the Montreux Convention also says that the ships of countries involved in a war have the right to return to their bases and should be allowed to do so," the Hurriyet newspaper quoted Cavusoglu as saying.

    According to the top diplomat, Turkish experts are studying the issue and in case "a war-time situation is officially declared, the process will begin." "Clearly, it all requires Turkey to describe Russia’s attack as a war," Cavusolgu explained.

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