President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's unwillingness to meet at the leader level, agree to foreign military presence on the contact line, and his statements about Donbas indicate that the Russian dictator does not truly desire peace. The head of state reported this in an interview for The Rest Is Politics podcast, writes UNN.
I told our American partners that they can understand if Putin wants peace by finding answers to these questions. First, try to arrange a meeting at the leader level to discuss territories. Putin refused. Second, if he doesn't want to continue aggression after a ceasefire, propose deploying American and European military along the contact line. Putin's answer was: "No, no foreign military." Why? This can only mean that he wants to move further.
The third factor indicating Putin's unwillingness for peace, Zelenskyy named his statements about the necessity of seizing Donbas.
He (Putin – ed.) has approximately 17 million square kilometers of territory. However, he tells Americans: "Look, what's the problem? It's only about 6 thousand square kilometers." Can you imagine someone who has millions of square kilometers, 70% of which are underdeveloped and lack proper infrastructure, asking for more? Do we really believe that all he needs is an additional 5800 square kilometers?
In his opinion, Donbas is a strategic location in Ukraine. When Russia obtains Ukrainian industrial cities and fortifications in this region, only open fields and direct roads to regional centers will remain.
"I mean, we understand why he wants Donbas," Zelenskyy concluded.