KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said it would be “unacceptable” for Europe to offer the Kremlin concessions to halt its invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking to European leaders at a summit in Hungary, Zelensky blasted those who were urging him to give in to some of President Vladimir Putin’s hardline demands, and urged Europe and the United States not to loosen ties following the election of Donald Trump.
“There has been much talk about the need to yield to Putin, to back down, to make some concessions … It’s unacceptable for Ukraine and unacceptable for all Europe,” Zelensky said.
He accused some European leaders, without specifying who, of “strongly” pushing Ukraine to make “concessions to Putin” – something Kyiv says would only embolden the Kremlin leader and encourage further aggression.
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“We need sufficient weapons, not support in talks. Hugs with Putin won’t help. Some of you have been hugging him for 20 years, and things are only getting worse,” Zelensky said.
The summit was being hosted by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has repeatedly railed against the West’s multi-billion dollar support to Kyiv.
Zelensky also urged Europe and the US to preserve their strong ties following Trump’s election victory this week.
The Republican has repeatedly criticised American aid to Ukraine and said he could end the war within hours of taking office.
“We do hope that America will become stronger. This is the kind of America that Europe needs. And a strong Europe is what America needs. This is the connection between allies that must be valued and cannot be lost,” Zelensky said.
As he repeated a call for more Western arms for his struggling army, Zelensky said Europe had to realise that North Korea was effectively “waging war” on the continent.
“North Korea is now, in effect, waging war in Europe. North Korean soldiers are attempting to kill our people on European soil,” he said, referring to reports Pyongyang has deployed troops to Russia to support the invasion.
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