VIDEO | Ukraine’s Zelensky tells CNN says he’s ‘ready for negotiations’ with Putin, but if they fail, it could mean ‘a third World War’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said  that he’s ready for negotiations” with Russian President Vladimir Putin but warned that if they fail „that would mean that this is a third World War.”

„I’m ready for negotiations with him. I was ready for the last two years. And I think that without negotiations we cannot end this war,” he told CNN.

Third World War

„I think that we have to use any format, any chance in order to have a possibility of negotiating, possibility of talking to Putin. But if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third World War,” he said.

The Ukrainian leader has called for more negotiations in recent days as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears its fourth week.

In a video message posted Saturday, he called for talks „without delay,” warning that otherwise Russia’s losses would be „huge,” CNN reported.

Territorial integrity

„We have always insisted on negotiations. We have always offered dialogue, offered solutions for peace,” he said. „And I want everyone to hear me now, especially in Moscow. It’s time to meet. Time to talk. It is time to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine.”

Mr. Zelensky has previously said that his priorities in the talks are clear: „The end of the war, security guarantees, sovereignty, restoration of territorial integrity, real guarantees for our country, real protection for our country.”

NATO member

He said that had  Ukraine been a NATO member “ a war wouldn’t have started.”

Last week, he said that he does not expect the former Soviet republic to join NATO anytime soon, something that has been a Ukrainian goal and is enshrined in its constitution.

NATO which has 30 members is a security alliance of American and European nations created in 1949 in response to the start of the Cold War.

Since the end of the Cold War and 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, many former ex-communist states including Romania which joined in 2004. Three former Soviet republics are also NATO members.

Russia has a land border with the world’s largest military alliance.

Sovereignty

„We are trying to defend our sovereignty, defend our country,” the Ukrainian president said.

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