Zelenskyy: Security Guarantees Only Work If They Are Ratified – Not Just Promised
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says any future peace deal for Ukraine must be secured through legally binding ratification of security guarantees, The Gaze informs.
Speaking during an online exchange with journalists, Zelenskyy repeatedly stressed that Ukraine will not accept arrangements that rest solely on political declarations.
“We have already been through this. Ukraine had the Budapest Memorandum – it was signed personally, and it did not work. Then there were the Minsk agreements, and they led to a full-scale war. All these papers did not work,” he said.
Zelenskyy claimed that Kyiv has reached a shared understanding with Washington. “We have agreed with the Americans that we will have security guarantees supported by the U.S. Congress, which is very important, and by the parliament of Ukraine,” he stressed. “These guarantees must be voted on bilaterally.”
He added that the same principle should apply to European partners. “Our bilateral agreements with Europeans should then be confirmed in European parliaments. Only then will these agreements have real force,” Zelenskyy stated.
At the same time, the president said Ukraine is considering submitting a broader peace framework to a national referendum. “We believe that the 20-point plan should be fixed through a referendum. Everyone understands that this is the strongest historical signature in terms of the power of this document,” he emphasised.
However, Zelenskyy made clear that a referendum would require sustained security conditions: “A referendum requires security and security infrastructure. That means a ceasefire. For us, that is at least 60 days.”
The Ukrainian president underlined that Kyiv and Washington share a unified position: there is no alternative to a diplomatic end to the war. If Russia refuses an agreement and continues hostilities, Zelenskyy said, U.S. and European support for Ukraine will continue.
He also framed the referendum idea as a matter of justice and legitimacy. The Ukrainian president said the issue was discussed with several European leaders in recent days and singled out Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for her support. According to Zelenskyy, she agreed that the decisive question is not merely when the war ends, but how – and that the final outcome must reflect the will of the Ukrainian nation. “For us, a just peace means a peace Ukrainians themselves can stand behind,” Zelenskyy said.
As The Gaze previously reported, the U. S. is currently considering a framework of long-term security guarantees for Ukraine lasting 15 years, with the possibility of extension, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a chat with journalists on Monday
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