Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, has told the Munich Security Conference that the Russian president is a liar and cannot be trusted.
Speaking in a panel discussion a day after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to his counterpart in Moscow, Zelenskyy said Trump had told him that Vladimir Putin wanted to end the war.
“And I said to him that he [Putin] is a liar... I don’t trust him,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian president cited as an example direct talks with Putin in which the two heads of state agreed a temporary ceasefire to exchange prisoners, an agreement he said Putin did not honor.
On the subject of Trump’s promises to end the war swiftly and reports that Russia is ready for talks, Zelenskyy sounded a note of caution.
“It is very important... not to make any decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine," Zelenskyy said.
“This is a principal position. We will never accept it. And I am not speaking just about me, I’m speaking about all our people, all our nation.”
Zelenskyy said he had raised the issue of NATO accession with both former President Joe Biden and with Trump, and that had been told there was no place for Ukraine in the alliance.
"I asked: will we be in NATO? He [Biden] said ‘no’,” Zelenskyy said. “They never saw us in NATO. They just spoke about it, but they didn’t want us.
“At the level of president, I never heard that we will be in NATO,” he said. “Never.”
With or without NATO membership for Ukraine, Zelenskyy argued, Europe needs to ramp up its defenses. He made the point that all NATO’s forces in Europe and Ukraine’s combined are no match for Russia’s military potential.
“We need a [Ukrainian] army of 1.5 million if we’re not in NATO,” he said. “If we want to not be afraid of a new occupation or invasion by Russia. These are real security guarantees.”
Talks between Zelenskyy and U.S. Vice President JD Vance ended in Munich on Friday without an announcement of a critical minerals deal that is central to Kyiv's push to win the backing of Trump.
Kyiv came back to the U.S. earlier with a revised draft agreement of the deal that could open up its vast resources of key minerals to U.S. investment, amid concerns in Kyiv over a U.S. version that was presented to Ukraine on Wednesday.
“Our teams will continue to work on the document,” Zelenskyy wrote on X, adding that he had had a “good meeting” with Vance and that Kyiv was “ready to move... as quickly as possible towards a real and guaranteed peace.”
“And I said to him that he [Putin] is a liar... I don’t trust him,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian president cited as an example direct talks with Putin in which the two heads of state agreed a temporary ceasefire to exchange prisoners, an agreement he said Putin did not honor.
On the subject of Trump’s promises to end the war swiftly and reports that Russia is ready for talks, Zelenskyy sounded a note of caution.
“It is very important... not to make any decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine," Zelenskyy said.
“This is a principal position. We will never accept it. And I am not speaking just about me, I’m speaking about all our people, all our nation.”
No NATO for now
Zelenskyy said he had raised the issue of NATO accession with both former President Joe Biden and with Trump, and that had been told there was no place for Ukraine in the alliance.
"I asked: will we be in NATO? He [Biden] said ‘no’,” Zelenskyy said. “They never saw us in NATO. They just spoke about it, but they didn’t want us.
“At the level of president, I never heard that we will be in NATO,” he said. “Never.”
With or without NATO membership for Ukraine, Zelenskyy argued, Europe needs to ramp up its defenses. He made the point that all NATO’s forces in Europe and Ukraine’s combined are no match for Russia’s military potential.
“We need a [Ukrainian] army of 1.5 million if we’re not in NATO,” he said. “If we want to not be afraid of a new occupation or invasion by Russia. These are real security guarantees.”
No deal yet on critical minerals
Talks between Zelenskyy and U.S. Vice President JD Vance ended in Munich on Friday without an announcement of a critical minerals deal that is central to Kyiv's push to win the backing of Trump.
Kyiv came back to the U.S. earlier with a revised draft agreement of the deal that could open up its vast resources of key minerals to U.S. investment, amid concerns in Kyiv over a U.S. version that was presented to Ukraine on Wednesday.
“Our teams will continue to work on the document,” Zelenskyy wrote on X, adding that he had had a “good meeting” with Vance and that Kyiv was “ready to move... as quickly as possible towards a real and guaranteed peace.”
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