Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday he would only talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin after coordinating a plan with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Zelenskyy said Trump had given him his personal phone number and told him that he could call any time he wanted.
He said Ukraine was willing to discuss everything, from peacekeeping troops to relations with NATO, and was open to any way to stop Russian President Putin.
He added that NATO membership was the easiest security guarantee for Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said he had no knowledge of a possible meeting with Russian representatives in Munich and stressed that there first had to be talks with U.S. and European Union representatives.
The Ukrainian president stressed a "red line" in acknowledging the Russian annexation of Ukrainian territory, which would never be recognized. This was entrenched in the Ukrainian constitution, and only the Ukrainian people could decide on a change to the borders, he said.
A plan for stationing foreign forces to guarantee peace was in place, but the details could not be released, he said.
Zelenskyy believes Trump is the key to ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Trump this week upended years of steadfast U.S. support for Ukraine.
Many observers, particularly in Europe, hope Vance will shed at least some light on Trump’s ideas for a negotiated settlement to the war following a phone call between Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week.
