Mr. Zelensky: Ukraine does not hand over controlled territory to Russia

(Dan Tri) - President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that Ukraine will not agree to return controlled territories to Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelensky (Photo: Getty).

In an interview with reporters on March 2, President Zelensky rejected the suggestion that he could sign a peace deal that would return Russian-controlled territories to Moscow.

The Ukrainian leader said it would be "a forced separation of our lands" and that this "coercion" risks causing further conflicts in the future.

"I think those countries that support us, or perhaps want to mediate in this war, need to understand that if the war ends in an unfair way, it will only be a matter of time before people try to get justice," Mr. Zelensky stressed.

"We don't want anything that doesn't belong to us," he declared.

Referring to security guarantees for Ukraine, President Zelensky stressed the importance of these guarantees being strong enough to convince ordinary Ukrainians, who have directly witnessed previous agreements being violated.

He raised concerns that without tough guarantees, Russia would rush to restart attacks and could accuse Kiev of violating the agreement.

“And who will win in that case? The Russians. Certainly not us, certainly not the United States, certainly not our European colleagues,” he said.

President Zelensky's statement came after the Kremlin ruled out any negotiations on the status of five Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia.

"The territories that have become subjects of the Russian Federation, which are enshrined in our constitution, are an inseparable part of our country. This is undeniable and non-negotiable," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on February 27.

Some territories in Ukraine that Russia has declared annexation (Photo: Sky).

Mr. Peskov mentioned the Crimean peninsula annexed to Russia in 2014 and four Ukrainian provinces including Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhia annexed to Russia in 2022 after controversial referendums.

Earlier, speaking at a press conference in Qatar, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also stressed that Moscow does not accept a halt to military operations along the current front line. He cited the Russian constitution, which was amended in 2022, in which Moscow considers four regions in Ukraine to belong to Russia.

According to Mr. Lavrov, the remaining territories of the four regions annexed by Russia need to be controlled by Moscow to end the war.

Russia announced the annexation of four provinces of Ukraine, but in reality, Moscow has not been able to fully control these regions.

Territory is one of the most contentious issues that has prevented Russia and Ukraine from negotiating an end to the conflict.

Russian officials have repeatedly said they have never rejected a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine, but have stressed that Kiev must meet Moscow's conditions.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has declared that it will never make territorial concessions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently floated the idea of ​​exchanging the territory controlled by Kiev in Kursk province for territory controlled by Russia. However, Russia immediately rejected this idea.

US President Donald Trump said he would try to reach a peace deal that would be best for both Ukraine and Russia. He said he would try to get Ukraine to recover as much territory as possible, but acknowledged that it would be difficult.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/ong-zelensky-ukraine-khong-trao-lanh-tho-bi-kiem-soat-cho-nga-20250303055645608.htm