Ukraine is not yet ready for peace talks with Russia, citing the need for more weapons, NATO membership, and security guarantees to prevent future aggression, said Andriy Yermak, President Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, as Kyiv seeks a stronger position for negotiations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff said in an interview broadcast late on Thursday that Kyiv was not yet ready to start talks with Russia as it lacked the weapons, security guarantees and international status that it sought.
Andriy Yermak's comments to public broadcaster Suspilne come as Zelenskyy publicly considers the possibility of a negotiated settlement to the war with Russia, launched by Moscow's full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.
"Not just yet today," Yermak told Suspilne, when asked whether Ukraine was ready to embark on talks.
"We don't have the weapons, we don't have the status that we are talking about. And that means an invitation to NATO and an understanding of clear guarantees that would provide for us, so that we could be sure that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin won't be coming back in two-three years."
In comments this week alongside German opposition leader Friedrich Merz, Zelenskyy said Ukraine wanted an end to the war and efforts were needed to make his country stronger and oblige the Kremlin to work towards peace.
In recent public pronouncements, the president has also said talks could take place with Russia still holding on to territory it has seized in the invasion.
But Ukraine, he said, needed an invitation issued to the entire country to join NATO, though the Alliance's status would apply to the territory controlled by Kyiv authorities and real security guarantees had to be put in place.
While in Paris last week, Zelenskyy met U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has said, without giving details, that he wants the war to end quickly.
Russia has long rejected any notion of Ukraine becoming a NATO member, with Putin saying Kyiv had to accept the Kremlin's annexation of four Ukrainian regions it only partly controls.
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Kyiv is facing its most severe wartime energy crisis, with the capital receiving only about half the electricity it needs, Mayor Vitali Klitschko told Reuters on Friday.
More than a 1,000 apartment buildings in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, remain without heating after a Russian missile strike earlier this week, local authorities said on Sunday, as freezing temperatures grip the city.
Kyiv's water and heating systems were restored after being temporarily shut down due to the intense cold, as engineers worked to stabilise the power grid, which had been pushed to the brink by a series of Russian strikes, including one two nights ago.
Russian drone and missile attacks on Kyiv early on Friday (9 January) killed at least 4 people, injured at least 19, and caused significant damage to residential buildings and critical infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said.
The Turkish Defence Ministry has voiced its support for recent military operations by Syrian government forces against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which enjoy the support of the United States.
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday (17 January) that concerns over security in Greenland should be addressed within the framework of NATO, describing a ground military intervention as highly unlikely.
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The Kremlin has welcomed recent signals from several major European capitals suggesting a renewed openness to dialogue with Moscow, calling the shift a “positive evolution” in Europe’s stance towards Russia.
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The world is entering a more unstable and fragmented phase as global cooperation declines and rivalry between major powers intensifies, the World Economic Forum has warned.
The Trump administration has denied a report that countries would be required to pay $1bn to join a proposed U.S.-backed peace initiative, after Bloomberg News said a draft charter set out a membership fee.
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