Ukraine is under no pressure from its partners to open peace negotiations with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a joint press conference with visiting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Nov. 4.
“Everyone knows my attitude, which coincides with the attitude of Ukrainian society,” the president said, Ukrainian news agency Interfax-Ukraine reported.
“No one is putting pressure on me today. All this was at the beginning of the war and before the war. Currently, no one from the leaders of the EU or the United States is putting pressure (on us).”
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Zelenskyy also stressed that such negotiations are currently impossible.
“We will not sit down with Russia, talk and give them something,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Earlier, NBC News reported that U.S. and European officials had begun discussing privately with the Ukrainian government the possibility of peace talks with Russia.
The talks cover a very broad outline of what Ukraine might have to give up to reach an agreement with Russia, said the news outlet, citing unnamed current and former U.S. officials familiar with the discussions.
The discussions began amid concerns among U.S. and European officials that the war has reached a deadlock and worries over whether they can continue to provide aid to Ukraine, the officials told reporters.
The sources said the Biden administration is concerned that Ukraine is running out of forces, while Russia has seemingly endless supplies.
Ukraine is also refusing to expand conscription.
Some U.S. military officials have privately begun using the term “stalemate” to describe the current situation on the front lines in Ukraine, the agency writes.
Officials have also privately stated that Ukraine probably has until about the end of the year or a little longer before discussions about peace talks may have to start.
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