For sake of peace in Ukraine, I am ready for anything, just anything, - Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is ready to leave office when the war in Ukraine ends and there are appropriate guarantees for Ukraine's security.
According to Censor.NET, Zelenskyy said this in the popular talk show "Meischberger " on the German TV channel ARD.
For the sake of peace in Ukraine, I am ready to do anything, just anything. For a long and lasting peace. As a person, as a citizen, as a father. I am not clinging to anything. I am the president of Ukraine because 73 per cent of people voted for me, and today I am the president of Ukraine because I am supported by the majority in my country," Zelenskyy said in response to a question whether he would be ready to resign if the requirement for signing a peace agreement was "only without Zelenskyy".
He noted that he is a patriot of Ukraine, just like the people who are defending the country today. And naturally, Russia wants to get rid of him. Perhaps not physically, as they tried at the beginning of the war, but politically.
"And this is quite understandable. I am a very uncomfortable person, a very uncomfortable person for Putin," the head of state said.
He recalled that he knew Putin, whom he met at the "Normandy Four" summit in Paris in December 2019, when he was very young and inexperienced. However, he did not succeed in getting the Ukrainian leader to sign the relevant papers, and he made changes anyway.
"We talked for a long time, negotiated and even shouted. It was 6 hours without a break. It is clear that I have more experience today, and ... it is not easy with me. Therefore, it is clear that Russia wants to get rid of me," Zelenskyy said.
He also noted: "If Ukraine joins the EU and NATO tomorrow, if Russian troops are withdrawn and we have security guarantees, I will no longer be needed. Then I will have done everything. But until that happens, I will defend my country."
Zelenskyy disagrees with the accusations of his authoritarian style of government and says he is doing "what a president should do in wartime". The head of state called himself "one of the most liberal people" and recalled what other leaders did when their countries were at war. Whether someone likes it or not, war always requires restrictions on certain freedoms.
He is also convinced that if Ukrainians are not united and strong today, Ukraine will be defeated.
Earlier, Zelenskyy said that most Ukrainians do not want presidential elections to be held until the war in the country ends.
