A peace deal that is not just on paper may not happen – Zelenskyy

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said a deal to end the war only counts when it is not just signed on paper but actually implemented, adding that no such deal exists at present and it may never materialise.

Source: Zelenskyy at a joint press conference with Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro in Kyiv on 20 December, reported by Interfax-Ukraine, a Ukrainian news agency

Quote: "Peace is better than war, but not at any cost, because we have already paid a high price. What matters to us is a just and lasting peace, so it can't be broken by another wish of Russian leader Vladimir Putin or another Putin. It's very important that there are strong security guarantees, so that a new aggression against us becomes unthinkable and physically impossible. This must not be just an agreement, good or bad. Good for whom, bad for whom? I don't want to characterise it. It may not happen. It doesn't exist today, there is no deal today. It exists when it's not only on paper, written in letters, but [when] the war is stopped."

Details: Zelenskyy cited the Budapest Memorandum as an example.

Quote: "That agreement did not protect us. So I don't consider it strong or that it worked. For me, an agreement is not just a signature."

Quote: "An agreement, by the way, would have to include several arrangements and documents, including US and European security guarantees that would have to be voted on and supported in the US Congress. It would also be necessary to understand in detail what would happen if aggression were to come from Moscow again and how the US and Europeans would protect Ukrainians, as well as what partners would do. I believe the agreement must be fair and effective for Ukraine."

Background:

• US President Donald Trump stated that a "peace deal", despite the complexity of the situation, "would work" and that "a lot of people want to see it work".
• Zelenskyy stressed that the Ukrainian authorities cannot allow themselves to think that the current peace process might fail.
• Davyd Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People party, the ruling parliamentary faction, said earlier that there is zero possibility of a "good peace deal" with Russia; the choice is between a very bad deal or no deal at all with the continuation of the war.

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