Ukraine draws red line in negotiations with Trump

(Dan Tri) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is ready to discuss with the US all aspects of future peace, but there will still be aspects considered red lines.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Photo: Reuters).

"I told US President Donald Trump that I am ready to negotiate at any time, unconditionally. We are ready to discuss everything," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters on February 14 on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

He admitted that he understood US reluctance to allow Ukraine to join NATO and was unsure whether that would change in the future.

"Today, neither the United States nor President Trump are ready to discuss NATO. They believe that Ukraine cannot be part of NATO. They consider Ukraine's desire to join NATO, as enshrined in our Constitution, to be the main reason for Russia's military actions," Zelensky said.

Mr. Zelensky also emphasized that Ukraine does not rule out the possibility of adjusting its approach to NATO membership.

“Do we want to join NATO? Yes. But is it just about the word NATO? No, it is about security,” he said.

He stressed that in this case, the main issue will be the specifics of security guarantees, including the limits of the peacekeeping mission and the size of the Ukrainian army. Mr. Zelensky estimated that without joining NATO, Ukraine would need to increase the size of its army to 1.5 million people to ensure it can counter threats from Russia.

When asked about the red lines in the negotiations, Mr. Zelensky pointed out that it was the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

"Legally, we will never recognize the controlled territories as Russian, they are Ukrainian. It is a clear boundary and is stated in our constitution. Only the Ukrainian people can decide this," President Zelensky stressed.

On February 12, President Trump declared that Ukraine joining NATO and recovering all of its territory was “unrealistic.” Some European allies are concerned that they and Ukraine could be left out of the US-Russia talks on a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

In response to these concerns, President Trump and the Kremlin pledged that the talks would include Ukraine.

Meanwhile, President Zelensky said he had no intention of negotiating with any Russian representative other than his counterpart Putin after he and Mr. Trump had prepared a joint plan to end the war.

"I will meet only one Russian, Mr. Putin, and only after we have a common plan with Mr. Trump and Europe. We will sit down at the negotiating table with Mr. Putin and end the conflict. Only in this case I am ready to meet, not in any other form of compromise," he said.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/ukraine-vach-lan-ranh-do-dam-phan-voi-ong-trump-20250215053429218.htm