Zelensky: "Trump has only offered security guarantees to Ukraine for 15 years"

The American president Donald Trump offered Volodimir Zelensky security guarantees for 15 years, not enough according to the Ukrainian leader. “I discussed this issue with President Trump. I told him that we have been at war for almost 15 years. That’s why I would like security guarantees to stay in place longer,” Zelensky said in a digital meeting with reporters.

“I told him we should consider the possibility of guarantees for 30, 40 or 50 years. That would be a historic decision by President Trump,” he added. The Ukrainian president insisted that without security guarantees the war cannot end.

“We all want the war to end and so does martial law. But martial law can only end when we have security guarantees,” he stressed, “the moment we have security guarantees it will be a signal to all of us that the war is over.”

The presence of a foreign peacekeeping force in Ukraine would be a necessary and “real” security guarantee to deter Russia from new attacks. Zelensky added during the online press conference. “I believe that the presence of international troops constitutes a real guarantee of security, a reinforcement that our partners already offer us,” he said.

Donbass? We will defend our interests

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded sparingly to the Kremlin’s request to “retreat beyond the administrative borders of Donbass” if he wants an end to the fighting. “As for the withdrawal from Donbass, it is nothing new that Russia wants it. In their wildest dreams, they would like us not to exist on the territory of our country at all,” he stressed in the press briefing.

“These dreams have been going on for years. But we have our land, our territorial integrity, our state and our interests. We will act based on the interests of Ukraine,” he warned.