President Zelensky Calls Kyiv Security Guarantee Only Successful If The United States Provides It

Donald Trump met President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Twitter/@ZelenskyyUa)

JAKARTA - President Volodymyr Zelensky said security guarantees for Ukraine to end Russia's war would only be effective if the United States provided it, hoping to meet US President-elect Donald Trump as soon as his inauguration.

In an interview with US podcaster Lex Fridman that aired on Sunday President Zelensky said Ukraine relied on Trump to force Moscow to end its war, with Russia going to escalate tensions in Europe if Washington leaves the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance.

The Ukrainian leader said the White House under Trump had an important role in providing security guarantees.

He stressed that he and Trump agreed on the need for a "peace through power" approach to end the conflict.

"Without the United States, security guarantees are unlikely. I mean security guarantees that can prevent Russian aggression," he said, quietly acknowledging European allies Kyiv would be too weak militarily to manage on its own.

Nearly three years after the Russian invasion, Trump's election, which returned to the White House on January 20, has sparked hopes for a diplomatic resolution to stop the war, but also concerns in Kyiv that rapid peace could be expensive.

Kyiv's leader used the interview broadcast on YouTube to call for Ukraine's membership in NATO, emphasizing his belief that a ceasefire without security guarantees for Kyiv would only give Russia time to restart for a new attack.

He further said Russian President Vladimir Putin was not interested in serious negotiations to end the war, so the Kremlin Leaders should be forced to stop and agree to lasting peace.

It is known that the situation on the battlefield has been the most challenging for Ukraine since the early months of the Russian invasion of 2022 and Kyiv forces, which have lost fewer villages after villages in the eastern Donbas region for months.

Although he said the United States was determining its future, President Zelensky warned Washington of any decision under Trump to leave NATO would weaken the military alliance and make President Putin bolder in Europe.

"I'm just saying, if that happens (the US comes out of the alliance), Putin will destroy Europe," he said.

Ukrainian leaders say they need to sit down with Trump to determine measures to stop the Kremlin and the European government also need to have votes in the process before Kyiv can sit down to negotiate with the Russian side.