Zelenskyy insists US is ready to give Ukraine security guarantees only after withdrawal from Donbas

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that he showed only the tip of the iceberg regarding statements made by US representatives indicating America's readiness to provide Ukraine with security guarantees only after Ukrainian troops withdraw from Donbas.

Source: Zelenskyy during a video call with journalists on 28 March, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine, a Ukrainian news agency

Quote from Zelenskyy: "Most of the iceberg is not visible, but believe me, I showed only the tip of it. I am being absolutely honest...

You can view this in different ways, but all the signals throughout the whole negotiation process indicate this – and this is not just my analysis, it sounds entirely correct – that we will be able to obtain security guarantees from the United States not before a ceasefire, not before the end of the war, but after our troops withdraw from Donbas."

Details: Zelenskyy said Ukraine wants to sign security guarantees before the war ends, along with a recovery package. Those guarantees would take effect after a vote in the US Congress, and Congress would vote only after the war is over.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "But even so, we were told that the issue is not when this comes into force, but when these guarantees are provided to us. And these guarantees are given to us only after we leave Donbas. And as today that is the condition for ending the war."

More details: Zelenskyy said the risks of Russia launching aggression again are high enough, which is why Ukraine needs security guarantees.

He also denied reports suggesting that the US is putting pressure on Ukraine.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "It may simply have been perceived as if the Americans are supposedly pressuring us to leave, and only then would they provide guarantees. But I am not saying they are pressuring us. And I have never said that. Not publicly, nor otherwise."

Background:

• Zelenskyy said in an interview with Reuters on 25 March that the US is offering Ukraine security guarantees in return for the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the unoccupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
• On 27 March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US had not made the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the whole of Donbas a condition for security guarantees, and that Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statements to that effect are false.

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