US security guarantees a must for Ukraine-Russia ceasefire, Trump can pressure Putin, says Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that US security guarantees are a must for there to be a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.

In an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman, Zelenskyy made his case for the ceasefire with Russia and how US President-elect Donald Trump can help secure it.

Following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said repeatedly that he is open to negotiating a ceasefire with Ukraine but has stuck to maximalist demands. He has made it clear that Ukraine should guarantee it would not join blocs like North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) and European Union (EU) and should commit to limits on its military among other demands related to how language is taught and used in Ukraine.

Even though Trump has slammed Zelenskyy for emptying US coffers and his allies have floated plans that would essentially serve Russia victory on a platter by freezing conflict-lines on the grounds and taking Nato-EU memberships off the table, Zelenskyy sought to appease Trump throughout the three-hour-long conversation, calling him a “strong”, “young”, and someone whose “brain works”.

Even though outgoing US President Joe Biden has supported Ukraine to the hilt and Trump and his allies have historically been friendly with Russia, Zelenskyy said Trump is “intellectually and physically” stronger than both Biden and outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris.

Even though Zelenskyy said there must be a negotiated ceasefire, he said Ukraine should negotiate it from a position of strength and security guarantees must be firm. He highlighted that Ukraine has been given security guarantees before, most notably in the ‘Budapest Memorandum’ of 1994, but those guarantees proved to be hollow as none of the guarantors came to Ukraine’s help when Russia invaded Ukraine.

‘Trump has enough power to pressure Putin’

With less than two weeks before he takes office, Zelenskyy showered praises on Trump, saying he is “strong” and has “enough power to pressure Putin” into stopping Russia’s war on Ukraine.

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Zelenskyy told Fridman that he would first sit down with Trump reach an understanding about the ceasefire and then they would approach the question of ceasefire with Putin. He made it clear that it was critical for the United States and Ukraine to reach an understanding.

Zelenskyy further said that Ukraine should be allowed to negotiate from a position of strength.

“I love President Trump’s message. When he speaks, I think that we share a position on peace through strength. That is very important. …We need to be in a strong position and not talk but end the war. Yes, it is possible through dialogue. We’re not opposed to it. You just need to be in a strong position to make the other person want it,” said Zelenskyy, according to the English translation shared by Fridman.

The interview was originally conducted in a mix of English, Ukrainian, and Russian languages.

On the question of whether Putin wants peace, Zelensky said: “I think this is naive. I’m sorry. With all due respect, it’s naive to think he wants to finish the war.”

Appeasing Trump further, Zelenskyy said that he has the will to end the war and he is counting on him to end the war.

“I think that President Trump not only has will. He has all these possibilities and it’s not just talk. I really count on him and I think that our people really count on him. He has enough power to pressure Putin not into wanting to stop it,” said Zelenskyy.

US security guarantees are a must, says Zelenskyy

Zelenskyy made it clear that any ceasefire has to involve the United States.

Whether Nato or EU are part of the deal is not important, but what’s important is whether the United States is part of the deal, according to Zelenskyy.

If the Trump-brokered ceasefire happens without US guarantees, then Putin will game everyone and resume the war at some point, said Zelenskyy.

“If the ceasefire happens without security guarantees, at least for the territory we control, what does he get? If he manages to make a ceasefire deal, and three months later, Putin launches a new wave of attacks, what will Trump look like? What will Ukraine look like?” said Zelenskyy, implying that if a Trump-brokered ceasefire falters in the absence of security guarantees, then Trump will lose face in front of the world.

Zelenskyy’s focus on security guarantees comes as Ukraine has shifted its approach in recent months in the wake of Trump’s emergence as the next US leaders. Instead of the maximalist demand of all territories with Russia, Ukraine has been pushing for security guarantees to safeguard the nation from more ingress and leveraging those guarantees to secure a middle ground of sorts.

When asked if he would be willing to accept Nato’s security guarantees, Zelenskyy flatly refused to be part of an arrangement without US guarantees.

Zelenskyy said, “We don’t need guarantees without the United States. That’s it because the United States is a very strong, powerful country. The United States puts the point.”

Comparing Russia’s war on Ukraine with the Iran-supporter war on Israel in West Asia, Zelenskyy said that security guarantees need to work in a similar way. He said that the way US, British, French, and Arab partners have come together to guarantee Israel’s safety in the wake of Iranian attacks, the United States also needs to guarantee that it would be willing to stand up to deter attacks on Ukraine and foil them if needed.

Referring to the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, as per which Ukraine gave up world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal in lieu of security guarantees and recognition of territorial sovereignty from the United States, United Kingdom, and Russia, Zelenskyy said that the guarantees turned out to be meaningless. He said that Ukraine sent letters after letters to these countries for help in the wake of Russian aggression, but none of the countries intervened to implement the guarantees.

Using extraordinarily strong language, Zelenskyy blasted the security guarantors and said “they didn’t give a fuck” about their commitment after Ukraine reached out to them when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014 and waged a low-intensity war in the Donbas region.

“We sent letters to all security guarantors, to all members of the Budapest Memorandum. What did they send? That what was written on the piece of paper — Ukraine holds consultations. If its integrity is violated, everyone should be in consultation. Everyone must come. Everyone must meet urgently — USA, Britain, Russia, France, China. Did anyone come, you ask? No. Did anyone reply to these letters — official letters? They are all recorded by diplomats. Did anyone conduct consultations? No, and why not? They didn’t give a fuck,” said Zelenskyy.