President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke at a press conference at the “Ukraine. Year 2024” forum in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
Referring to the timing of the first Global Peace Summit, Zelenskyy said that the first summit will take place in Switzerland in the spring and that they want the second one to be held on another continent.
“WE DON’T WANT ANY NEGOTIATION FORMAT IMPOSED ON US”
Volodymyr Zelensky warned against other countries imposing any negotiation format with Russia on Ukraine, saying, “We do not want any negotiation format, any peace formula to be imposed on us. It is very important that the initiative comes only from Ukraine.”
Pointing out that the process of the First Global Peace Summit is the same as the grain corridor agreement, Zelenskyy noted that at the peace summit “a plan will be developed, then countries will technically deal with each of the crises brought by the war.”
“When the countries prepare the relevant document (at the peace summit), it will be fair, but this does not mean that Russia will accept this document. No one can guarantee that Russia will accept this document. (Russia) We don’t know who will be on their side, but in any case we say that this document will be presented by the negotiators to the Russian side, as in the format of the grain initiative. So that at the second summit we will be ready to take appropriate diplomatic steps for a just peace and an end to the war. This is our initiative and we want as many countries as possible to be with us. We need to take a step forward.”
“IF UKRAINE LOSES, WE PERISH”
On the question of whether he is ready for negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war, Zelenskyy replied that “it is not possible to negotiate with a man who kills his opponents” and said, “We offer him a platform where he can admit that he has lost the war. Will Ukraine lose this war? I am sure it will not. We have no alternative but to win. If Ukraine loses, we will disappear. We don’t want such an ending.”
Zelenskyy pointed out that whether Ukraine will lose the war and how many soldiers will be lost in this war depends on the partners and said, “All the steps Putin takes backwards will have a great impact on society. Then he will think about internal security. Today Putin acts with plans and figures and talks about plans for 2030. He sees himself until 2030, we want to finish with him earlier.”
ERDOĞAN STATEMENT
Referring to the issue of resuming shipments from the ports in the Mykolaiv region, Zelensky said, “I believe that President Erdogan can help us with the opening of the sea in the Mykolaiv region. I know that Turkey has discussed the issue of freedom of navigation in the Black Sea with United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Gutteres. We are ready for such a meeting. We believe that this issue can be resolved at the first opening summit (of the Global Peace Summit).”
FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE NUMBER OF SOLDIERS KILLED
Explaining for the first time Ukraine’s military losses in the war, Zelenskyy said, “31 thousand Ukrainian soldiers died in this war. Not 300 thousand or 150 thousand as Putin lies. But every loss is a great loss for us. 180 thousand Russians died.”
Asked whether he had taken into account the request of international partners to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons without delay, Zelensky said, “As for the ATACMS, (the range) is 300 kilometers. You understand why we need it. I don’t want to talk about the details, but you understand why. Russia understands what we are going to do with it. We have been working on really long-range weapons for a long time. If I may, I would like to give a general answer, I think the reaction from our partners on this weapon is positive.”
Asked whether they would launch a new counteroffensive and how they would act in this case, Volodymyr Zelensky said, “The important thing is to have a plan. There is such a plan. I cannot tell you the details of this plan. The fewer people know about the plans of the Ukrainian army, the faster the victory will be, not the expected result for the Russians.”
“Obviously, our counter-offensive actions last year were on the Kremlin’s table before the offensive began,” Zelenskyy said about Ukraine’s counter-offensive in 2023.
Zelenskyy said that the General Staff had a clear war plan for 2024 but was preparing several alternative plans due to information leaks.
