(AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged US counterpart Donald Trump on Sunday to visit his country to better understand the devastation wrought by Russia’s invasion. “Please, before any kind of decisions, any kind of forms of negotiations, come to see people, civilians, warriors, hospitals, churches, children destroyed or dead,” he said in a CBS “60 Minutes” interview broadcast Sunday. With a visit to Ukraine, Trump “will understand what (Russian leader Vladimir) Putin did.” “You will understand with whom you have a deal,” Zelensky added.
Zelensky’s invitation follows the heated row at the White House in late February between the Ukrainian president, Trump and US Vice President JD Vance, which played out in front of press. Vance at the time accused Ukraine of hosting foreign leaders on “propaganda tours” to win support. Zelensky repeated his denial of that allegation and told CBS that if Trump chose to visit Ukraine, “we will not prepare anything. It will not be theater.” “You can go exactly where you want, in any city which (has) been under attacks.”
Trump is pushing for a quick end to the more than three-year war, with the United States holding direct talks with Russia despite its unrelenting attacks on Ukraine. Washington has also held talks with Ukrainian officials on a potential truce, while European nations are discussing a military deployment to reinforce any Ukraine ceasefire. Kyiv has previously agreed to a US-proposed unconditional ceasefire but Moscow has turned it down.
“Putin can’t be trusted. I told that to President Trump many times. So when you ask why the ceasefire isn’t working — this is why,” Zelensky said. “Putin never wanted an end to the war. Putin never wanted us to be independent. Putin wants to destroy us completely — our sovereignty and our people.”
Zelensky spoke to CBS Friday in his hometown Kryvyi Rig, where a Russian strike earlier this month killed 18 people, including nine children. The Ukrainian leader said he had “100 percent hatred” for Putin, asking “how else can you see a person who came here and murdered our people, murdered children?” However, he added that the animosity “doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work to end the war as soon as possible.”
As negotiations continue over ending the war, Zelensky said that a just peace would be “to not lose our sovereignty or our independence,” and pledged to eventually reclaim any territory currently held by Russia. “We, no matter what, will take back what is ours because we never lost it — the Russians took it from us.”
© 2024 AFP
