Russian President Vladimir Putin “is not interested in holding negotiations to end the war, but rather wants to engage in talks with foreign leaders to end his international isolation.”
This was stated on November 16 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, following a phone conversation between Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz the previous day.
“I think Putin does not want peace at all, but this does not mean he does not want to sit down with some leaders [at the negotiating table]. Because for him, political isolation means destruction. It is very beneficial for him to sit, talk, and not agree,” Zelensky said during an interview with a Ukrainian broadcaster on November 16.
“He cannot travel, and negotiations mean that he could go somewhere… This would mean the end of isolation for him,” Zelensky added.
However, Zelensky stated that Ukraine would bring the conflict to an end as soon as possible and acknowledged that the situation on the battlefield in the east, where Russia is making advances, is difficult because the Ukrainian army has fewer soldiers and fewer weapons than the Russian army.
“As for us, we need to do everything to make sure that this war ends next year, through diplomacy,” said Zelensky.
He also expressed a desire to speak directly with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, not through intermediaries. However, according to U.S. law, such contact is impossible before Trump takes office, Zelensky said.
“As President of Ukraine, I will only take seriously a conversation with the President of the United States, with all due respect to others,” Zelensky emphasized.
He criticized the conversation that Scholz had with Putin on November 15, warning that it had opened the “Pandora’s Box,” undermining efforts to isolate Putin and end the war in Ukraine “through a just peace.”
