Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that he is ready to leave the post of Ukrainian president when the war in his country ends and there will be proper guarantees for Ukraine’s security. Zelenskyy stated this on the air of German ARD television, Censor.NET reports.
“For the sake of peace in Ukraine, I am ready for anything, simply anything for long and lasting peace. As a person, as a citizen, as a father. I do not cling to anything. I am the president of Ukraine because 73 percent of the people voted for me, and today I am the president of Ukraine because I am supported by the majority in my country,” Zelenskyy said in response to the question of whether he would be ready to leave office if the demand to sign a peace agreement with Russia were “only without Zelenskyy.”
The Ukrainian president noted that he loves his homeland, like the people who defend the country today. And naturally, Russia wants to get rid of it. Perhaps not physically, as they tried at the beginning of the war, but politically, Zelenskyy noted.
“And this is quite understandable. I am a very inconvenient person, a very inconvenient person for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” added the Ukrainian leader.
Zelenskyy recalled that he is familiar with Putin, whom he met at the Normandy Four summit in Paris—in December 2019—when he was very young and inexperienced. However, the Ukrainian leader failed to force him to sign the relevant papers; he nevertheless made the changes he wanted.
“We talked for a long time, agreed and even shouted. It lasted six hours without a break. It is clear that I have more experience today, and… it is not easy with me at all. Therefore, it is clear that Russia wants to get rid of me,” Zelenskyy said.
“If tomorrow Ukraine joins the EU and NATO, if Russian troops leave [Ukraine], and we have security guarantees, I will no longer be needed. Then I will say, ‘I did everything.’ But until that happens, I will defend my country,” the Ukrainian president added.
Also, Zelenskyy dismissed accusations of his authoritarian rule and said that he is doing “what a president should do in wartime.” The Ukrainian leader called himself “one of the most liberal people,” and recalled the measures that other leaders took when wars were going on in their countries. Whether someone likes it or not, war always requires curtailing certain freedoms, Zelenskyy added.