In a press interview, released when Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators met in Geneva, Mr. Zelensky said that Mr. Trump's continuous call for Ukraine, instead of Russia, to make concessions is "unfair". He expressed hope that it was just a negotiation tactic and not an official decision.
Previously, Mr. Trump had twice hinted that Ukraine and Mr. Zelensky personally needed to take steps to ensure that the negotiations achieved results. Speaking on Air Force One, Mr. Trump said: "Ukraine should quickly sit down at the negotiating table.
Mr. Zelensky believes that putting pressure on Ukraine may be easier than on Russia. However, he still thanked Mr. Trump for his efforts to find peace, and said that his exchanges with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr. Jared Kushner, US President's son-in-law, did not take place in a similar way of putting pressure. He said the two sides respect each other and affirmed that he is not an easy person to subdue.
Regarding territorial issues, Mr. Zelensky emphasized that if a peace plan requires Ukraine to abandon territories that Russia has not yet controlled in the Donbas region, Ukrainian voters will reject it if it is put to a referendum. Russia currently controls about 88% of this area.
