According to Ukrinform, he said this in an interview with CNN.
“My attitude to Putin is very clear. I think that if we lift sanctions, we will make him stronger. It’s not something personal between me and President Trump, and of course I’m against of any lifting of sanctions,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian President noted that although European allies have provided Ukraine with a certain number of air defense missiles, “it’s not enough to defend ourselves.”
Ukraine, Zelensky said, now mostly needs two things from its allies: “Not to lift sanctions from Putin … (and) to give us better missiles.”
The Ukrainian President described the meeting in Oslo as productive, saying he was not convinced that Putin was seeking peace.
“Putin is playing, you know, he is a player. It’s a pity because he plays with the lives of other people, and of course he doesn’t want (to stop the war). So what we want from our partners is not to give him a possibility to be stronger and break us,” Zelensky said.
The President hinted at the possibility of freezing the current front lines in order to “ceasefire, stop the killing, sit and speak.” However, he stressed that the idea of Ukraine handing over to Russia territories currently under its control is doomed to fail, and Kyiv will never recognize the occupied territories as part of Russia.
“Our land is very important because it’s about people. It’s not about kilometers. A lot of people died defending this land, defending our independence, our country. Nobody will recognize these territories, which are temporarily occupied, as Russian territories, and I think Russia understands it. It’s a pity if somebody doesn’t understand, but it’s up to them,” Zelensky said.
Read also: UK rejects Witkoff’s characterization of Putin as “humanitarian”As reported by Ukrinform, on October 20, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held talks in Oslo with U.S. President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb also taking part.
On Wednesday, October 21, Witkoff met with Putin in St. Petersburg.
Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine
