Zelenskyy offered a major concession amid escalating tensions and false claims from Trump over the origin of the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a press conference in Kyiv on Sunday he would be willing to resign from his post in exchange for peace in Ukraine or NATO membership.
“If it is peace for Ukraine, and if you really want me to leave my post, I’m ready,” Zelenskyy said in Ukrainian. “Alternatively, I can trade this for NATO membership, if such conditions exist, immediately, so we don’t have lengthy discussions. I’m focusing on Ukraine’s security today, not in 20 years. And I don’t intend to stay in power for decades.”
Zelenskyy’s offer is a major concession amid an ongoing public dispute with President Donald Trump, which escalated last week when Trump suggested that the Ukrainian president was responsible for starting the war. In reality, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, initiating the current land war.
In response, the Ukrainian president accused Trump of living in a “disinformation bubble” and pushing Kremlin talking points. The U.S. president then went on to call Zelenskyy a “dictator” and a “modestly successful comedian.”
When asked about Trump on Sunday, Zelenskyy told reporters in Ukrainian, “We are partners and I want him on our side.”
Asked directly about some of the things Trump has said about him over the past week, Zelenskyy said, “There is no space for emotions. I have pragmatic position. I can’t name these words a compliment, but what can I do?”
“I am the elected president by 73% of Ukrainian people. After the martial law, there will be elections. Perhaps he will say something good about me. It is more important what Ukrainians think about me,” the Ukrainian president added.
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The feud comes as the U.S. and Russia have resumed high-level talks and several senior Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.
Trump has pledged to begin peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, saying on Friday that it’s not important for Zelenskyy to attend peace negotiations because “he’s been at meetings for three years and nothing got done.”
“I don’t think he’s very important to be at meetings, to be honest with you,” Trump told Fox News Radio’s Brian Kilmeade. “He’s been there for three years. He makes it very hard to make deals. But look what’s happened to his country, it’s been demolished.”
Earlier this month, during an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Zelenskyy told moderator Kristen Welker that he would not accept a peace deal without Ukraine at the negotiating table.
“I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine, never,” he said in English in that interview. “This is the war in Ukraine, against us, and it’s our human losses.”
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