WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS
The Chief of Staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview broadcast late last night that Kiev is not yet ready to start negotiations with Russia because it lacks weapons, security guarantees and the international status it seeks.
Andriy Yermak made the statement to the public television Suspilne at a time when Zelensky is publicly considering the possibility of a negotiated solution to the war with Russia, which was triggered by Moscow's invasion of the neighboring country in February 2022.
"We have no weapons, we do not have the status we are talking about. And that means an invitation to NATO and clear guarantees (…) to be sure that Putin will not return in two or three years," said Yermak, who answered negatively when asked whether Ukraine was currently ready to start negotiations.
Zelensky discussed "freezing" the lines with French President Emmanuel Macron and US President-elect Donald Trump in Paris last week, and among other things, he proposed deploying foreign troops in Ukraine until the country joins NATO.
Zelensky stressed that he told the two leaders that he did not believe Putin actually wanted to end the war and that the Russian president should be forced to do so.
"You can only use force if Ukraine is strong. A strong Ukraine before any diplomacy means a strong (Ukraine) on the battlefield," Zelensky said, implying that Kiev needs additional military assistance.
The official Kremlin, however, announced on Tuesday that the war in Ukraine will continue until the goals set by President Vladimir Putin are met through military action or negotiations. Putin is demanding that Ukraine abandon its ambition to join NATO and completely withdraw from four regions that Russia considers its own.
