KYIV, Ukraine, 22 Oct (AP) \u2014 Ukraine\u2019s president is hoping allies will take a more positive stance on his so-called \u201cvictory plan\u201d after the U.S. election, but concedes that its key demand \u2014 an invitation to join NATO \u2014 is not welcome by some major Western partners, in particular Germany.<\/p>\n
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was also likely looking at the postelection scenario in the U.S. to assess the possibility of cease-fire talks with Ukraine. He assessed that if partial cease-fire deals could be reached over attacks on energy infrastructure and Black Sea shipping routes, it would signal the end of the \u201chot phase\u201d of the war.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy spoke to journalists on Monday and his comments were embargoed until Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He said the U.S. is analyzing his plan, but he doesn\u2019t expect a meaningful response until after the Nov. 5 election.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said, yes, we\u2019ve started working on the Victory Plan, they want to analyze everything, and so on. But it\u2019s very clear to me that all the major partners, especially during the election period, will be afraid of Russia\u2019s reaction,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause they understand that with this package, we can destroy them.\u201d<\/p>\n
On NATO, Zelenskyy said France, Britain and Italy have shown signs of support. Germany has reservations, however, and Zelenskyy believes only a U.S. green light will convince Berlin to accept the idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the fact is that the German side is skeptical about our NATO membership \u2014 that\u2019s a fact. I believe their stance is softer than it was before \u2014 this is also a fact.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBut when it comes to the invitation I\u2019m talking about now, they are afraid of … Russia\u2019s reaction,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that their position will be influenced by a bigger alliance. A bigger alliance in supporting us \u2014 a confident \u201cYes\u201d from the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many significant issues will hinge on decisions taken following the fraught election period, the president said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the elections, we hope for a more positive reaction from the U.S. \u2014 not because of a change in the president, but because the focus of the United States is now on the elections, and I believe that any sharp statements from the U.S. today might be inappropriate or carry risks. I think they don\u2019t want unnecessary risks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Asked if he faced pressure from allies to end the war, Zelenskyy joked, saying, \u201cOver the years, people\u2019s overall blood pressure rises.\u201d<\/p>\n
He dismissed reports of a possible cease-fire scenario in which Ukraine exchanged occupied territories for NATO membership.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not discussing this. But I think that these media leaks are not accidental. Perhaps some partners may have such thoughts. They don\u2019t communicate this directly with me, but through the media, it\u2019s clear they\u2019re testing its reception.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the end of the \u201chot phase\u201d of the war would commence if a deal could be reached with Russia to halt attacks on energy infrastructure and Black Sea ports and shipping routes. In this case, attacks on military targets would continue as well as front-line fighting, he said.<\/p>\n
He said he plans to convince countries of the Global South to embrace Ukraine\u2019s plan as another way to push Moscow to agree to Kyiv\u2019s terms.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy said his country is not pursuing nuclear weapons to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not asking to be given or returned nuclear weapons,\u201d he said. \u201cMy position is very clear. We gave them up, but we got nothing in return. And we only received a full-scale war and many casualties, so today we have only one way out. That\u2019s why we need NATO, because we don\u2019t have the weapons that can stop Putin.\u201d<\/p>\n
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KYIV, Ukraine, 22 Oct (AP) \u2014 Ukraine\u2019s president is hoping allies will take a more positive stance on his so-called \u201cvictory plan\u201d after the U.S. election, but concedes that its key demand \u2014 an invitation to join NATO \u2014 is not welcome by some major Western partners, in particular Germany. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-251011","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251011\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}