Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized the importance of maintaining an active dialogue with the United States regarding peace negotiations. He made this statement during a press conference at the Munich Security Conference, responding to media inquiries.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Ukraine Strengthens Ties with the U.S. to Advance Peace Initiatives
Zelensky stressed that the main task for Kyiv remains to support ongoing contact with the American side. He noted that Ukraine seeks to avoid isolation in negotiations with Russia and is interested in a more active involvement of European partners in the process. The president added that, although Europe is the largest financial donor of military aid to Ukraine, its presence in the negotiations is currently insufficient, despite significant interest in ending the war.
“First and foremost, our task is to maintain contact with the American side. Secondly, we must ensure that we do not find ourselves in a negotiation context solely with Russia, because, unfortunately, there is not much of Europe in the negotiations at the moment. We are doing everything for this; Europe wants to be involved, by the way, but Russia does not see them much, which is unfair,” he noted.
The head of state emphasized that Ukraine is closely cooperating with the U.S. on all fronts. In particular, Zelensky announced a planned conversation with U.S. representatives — Special Representative of President Donald Trump Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as well as a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and American senators.
Negotiations on Security Guarantees and Involvement of European Leaders
According to the president, Ukraine is making every effort to avoid accusations of hindering peace initiatives. Zelensky pointed out the public signals that place the responsibility for ending the war on Kyiv and emphasized the mature approach of the Ukrainian side to diplomatic processes and the importance of avoiding strategic mistakes.
The president also reported that the parties are already very close to finalizing work on security guarantees for Ukraine; however, negotiations regarding the duration of such agreements are ongoing. In particular, during a meeting with investors, guarantees for a period of over 5-10 years were discussed, while the American side proposed a 15-year term. Ukraine, on the other hand, aims to secure guarantees for 20 years or more and does not rule out the possibility of entering into an agreement for 30 or 50 years, depending on the decisions of the U.S. administration and Congress.
Speaking on February 14 at the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky also announced negotiations with the President of Azerbaijan and other international partners. This year’s forum features leading European leaders and a Ukrainian delegation headed by the president.