Zelenskyy: All sides must be ready for compromise, US included

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that the United States must also be prepared to compromise during negotiations to end the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Source: Zelenskyy at a joint press conference with the leaders of Lithuania and Poland in Vilnius on Sunday 25 January

Details: Zelenskyy noted that during the trilateral talks in the UAE, a "20-point plan and problematic issues were discussed, there were many problematic issues, now there are fewer".

He said Russia has long aimed to erase Ukraine's presence in the east of its territory.

"They [the Russians – ed.] set this as a goal and it is absolutely clear that they want to achieve this goal," Zelenskyy said. "They are still unable to do this on the battlefield. Our position on our territory, the territorial integrity of Ukraine, which must be respected – everyone knows our position: we fight for our state, for our own, we do not fight on the territory of another country, so what questions can there be to us."

Quote: "Yes, these are two different principled positions: Russian and Ukrainian. The Americans are trying to find a compromise. We agree to communicate in a trilateral format. These are perhaps the first steps towards that very compromise. But for a compromise, all sides must be ready for compromise. By the way, the American side must be ready as well."

Background:

• Zelenskyy described the 23-24 January talks between Ukraine, the US and Russia in Abu Dhabi as constructive and mentioned the possibility of continuation next week.
• US digital news outlet Axios reported that the continuation of the trilateral talks between Ukraine, the US and Russia in the United Arab Emirates is scheduled for Sunday 1 February.
• Axios also said the Abu Dhabi talks had taken place not only in a trilateral format involving Ukraine, the US and Russia, but also in a bilateral Ukraine-Russia format without US participation.

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