Publshed November 4, 2023
“No one among our partners is pressuring us to sit down with Russia, talk to it, and give it something,” he added, after reports have in the last days emerged that Washington is exploring possible concessions to the Russians behind the scenes.
Zelensky claimed that it’s “Russia’s goal” to take global focus away from the Ukraine war. “We have already been in very difficult situations when there was almost no focus on Ukraine,” he said, before adding, “I am absolutely sure we will overcome this challenge.”
Now nearly one month after the horrific Hamas Oct.7 terror attack on southern Israel, the crisis in Gaza is completely dominating headlines. In recent weeks, news of Ukraine-Russia has actually slipped from the front page of major American newspapers.
In Saturday’s press conference he also tried to push back against the slew of recent pessimistic headlines, per Bloomberg:
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pushed back on an NBC report that US and European officials have begun pressuring Kyiv toward possible peace negotiations with Moscow. “I do not know who is publishing this and for what,” Zelenskiy said
He really spoke the words out loud… Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that the war in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas is “taking away the focus” from the Ukraine conflict.
He made the remarks in a press conference in Kiev while standing alongside EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, at a moment headlines have turned negative on the prospect of ever being able to beat back the Russians. “Of course, it’s clear that the war in the Middle East, this conflict, is taking away the focus,” Zelensky said in the surprisingly blunt admission.
He began his remarks by commenting on the front line situation, which hasn’t changed significantly in many months. “Time has passed, people are tired… But this is not a stalemate,” he said.
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SOURCE: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/zelensky-complains-war-gaza-taking-away-focus-ukraine
RELATED: Ukraine’s Zelensky Denies War with Russia at ‘Stalemate’
Published November 4, 2023
President Volodymyr Zelensky denied on Saturday that Ukraine’s war with Russia had reached a “stalemate”, pushing back at suggestions Western leaders were lobbying for peace talks.
The sprawling frontline between the two warring sides has barely moved in almost a year, with one senior Ukrainian official warning this week that the conflict was deadlocked.
“Time has passed, people are tired… But this is not a stalemate,” Zelensky told a news conference in Kyiv with EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
The Ukrainian leader also rejected the idea Western countries were putting pressure on Kyiv to enter talks with Russia, amid reports U.S. and EU officials had discussed what such negotiations would entail.
“No one among our partners is pressuring us to sit down with Russia, talk to it, and give it something,” he said.
With the war now in its 20th month and Ukraine struggling to gain ground in its counteroffensive, Zelensky has regularly met Western leaders to try to stave off fatigue with the conflict.
Zelensky said the war between Israel and Hamas had also drawn attention away from Ukraine, and said that this was “Russia’s goal”.
“Of course, it’s clear that the war in the Middle East, this conflict, is taking away the focus,” Zelensky said.
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SOURCE: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/11/04/ukraines-zelensky-denies-war-with-russia-at-stalemate-a83002
RELATED: There is no pressure to negotiate with Russia, says Zelenskyy
It ‘has never been like this and will never be,’ Ukrainian president says.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a joint press conference in Kyiv on November 4, 2023 | Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images
Publshed November 4, 2023
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday denied a report that EU and U.S. officials have spoken with the government in Kyiv about possible peace talks with Russia.
“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,” Zelenskyy told a joint press conference in Kyiv with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was on an unannounced visit to the worn-torn country.
It “has never been like this and will never be,” Zelenskyy said.
NBC News reported Saturday that U.S. and European officials have begun talking with the Ukrainian government about what possible peace negotiations with Russia might entail, citing one current U.S. official and one former U.S. official familiar with the discussions. The conversations may have included what Ukraine might need to give up to reach a peace deal with Russia, according to the report.
The officials said the discussions started last month during a meeting including NATO members, amid concerns that the Russia-Ukraine war had reached a stalemate, NBC reported. There are also concerns about how much aid countries can continue to provide to Ukraine, according to the report. EU officials warned last month that Europe can’t compensate if Washington drops support for Kyiv.
“Ukraine is a sovereign country and [will] take sovereign decisions,” von der Leyen emphasized at the joint press conference in Kyiv, pointing to Ukraine’s 10-point peace proposal put forward last year.
Over 600 days into its battle to fight off Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine faces a funding crunch due to delays in planned aid from the U.S. and amid uncertainty about when exactly Europe’s next big package of aid will be delivered.
Any delay could expose Kyiv to a 2024 budget shortfall — a potential situation that is causing anxiety in Ukraine.
