Zelensky reveals what Ukraine needs for a ceasefire with Moscow

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stressed that his country will not make any sort of concessions to Moscow in order to achieve peace but he has revealed what Kyiv would need in order to negotiate any future peace deal to end the war. 

Zelensky’s comments came after a harrowing few days for the Ukrainian leader that saw a lot of negative press published by international media regarding private pressure Kyiv was getting from its European allies pushing for Ukraine to negotiate peace with Russia. 

NBC News reported that two unnamed sources close to the situation explained talks on what Ukraine would be willing to give up in order to put an end to the conflict with Russia were being discussed, though this was denied by Zelensky. 

In a press conference with European Commission President Ursala von der Leyen, the Ukrainian President explained that he was not being pressured to negotiate with Russia by any of Ukraine's allies in Europe, not the United States. 

“No leader of the United States or European Union, our partners, nobody puts pressure on us for us sitting at the negotiation table with Russia and give something away,” noted Zelensky according to a report on his comments from Politico.

Zelensky added it had “never been like this and will never be,” confidently expressing to the assembled crowd that he didn’t expect Ukraine to be pressured into ensuing war with Russia in the future. 

Ursula von der Leyen also made it clear during the press conference that no European state would pressure Kyiv into making peace: “Ukraine is a sovereign country and [will] take sovereign decisions,” she explained 

However, just days after Zelensky explained that he was not being pressured by any of Ukraine's allies to make peace, he revealed the conditions under which he would make peace to students from Anáhuac Querétaro University, RBK Ukraina reported. 

Zelensky said that Ukraine would not end the war unless the country received "the restoration of territorial integrity, rights, and the freedom of citizens,” according to a report on his comments from Newsweeks’ Brendan Cole. 

“Another stage of the war is the restoration of justice,” Zelensky added. But it's unlikely leaders in Moscow would give into any demands of maintaining the territorial integrity of Ukraine nor the rights and freedom of the country’s citizens. 

"The restoration of sovereignty is the main principle for ending the hot stage of the war," Zelensky continued. "Everything will end in peace." However, again, it is not likely that peace will be brought about at the moment under such conditions. 

Vladimir Putin has repeatedly denied the historical legitimacy of Ukraine and as recently as November 3rd said that Ukraine never existed as an independent political entity. Putin claimed Ukraine owed its existence to the Soviet Union. 

"All the southern Russian lands were transferred during the formation of Soviet Ukraine… There was no Ukraine within the empire: there were oblasts,” Putin explained during a meeting of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation according to Ukrainska Pravda. 

“The Soviet Union was formed and a vast Ukraine was formed, first and foremost, to a significant extent, at the expense of the southern Russian lands,” Putin went on to say, adding Ukraine tried to destroy everything Russian and exterminate people in Donbas. 

Unfortunately, Zelensky understands this narrative all too well and told the students he spoke with at Anáhuac Querétaro University that Russia doesn’t want to negotiate a peace deal because it “imagines the world in its own way.”

With Putin denying Ukraine's legitimacy as a sovereign state and Zelensky refusing to make peace until the country's territorial integrity is restored, it's unlikely that the two sides will negotiate a peace until there are outright losses or changes in their viewpoint.