Zelenskyy strives to achieve peace within a year through negotiations

KYIV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed hope that peace in the Russo-Ukrainian war could be achieved within a year via diplomatic channels and negotiations, according to an interview he gave to France 2.

“I really hope so. We will do everything we can. This is our priority — mine and my team’s. My team is actively engaged in negotiations. Our priority is to end this war,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine’s second war-time president emphasized that diplomacy does not mean capitulation or accepting Russia’s maximalist conditions that demand ceding territory. 

He said that Moscow’s demand for the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from all of the two easternmost regions of Luhanska and Donetsk is a “red line.”

Currently, Russia is attempting to present its ultimatums as a search for compromise, while continuing attacks on civilians and using winter conditions as a weapon. Zelenskyy warned that the more the Kremlin kills innocent people, its shows that Moscow has not real intention of seeking peace. 

He also noted that even a “frozen” front along current positions would represent a major concession for Ukraine. Meanwhile, he reaffirmed Ukraine’s readiness to engage in dialogue to preserve its independence.

Zelenskyy warned that losing sovereignty and the potential absorption by Russia would be catastrophic for Ukrainians but expressed confidence that this would not happen. He remains hopeful that the war can be resolved through diplomacy.

“The war is existential for Ukraine; it is about the very survival of our state,” the president said. “If we lose this war, we lose the independence of our country.”