President Volodymyr Zelensky gave a press conference to journalists following the results of the Munich Security Conference. Hereʼs what he said there.
About Europe at the negotiating table
The president was asked to comment on the words of Trumpʼs special envoy Keith Kellogg that Europe would not be physically at the negotiating table to end the war in Ukraine.
"The war is not in the United States and not in the EU, God forbid. Itʼs a pity that the war is in Ukraine. Thatʼs why Ukraine, I think, is the leader in this matter — who should be at the negotiating table. And I think that our position is the main one in this matter," the president said.
On the agreement on rare earth resources
"I am the president and will have an impact on the quality of this document. And that is why I did not let the ministers sign it. It is not ready, it does not protect us and our interests. For me, it is very important to talk about investments. Having a profit from them, you can think about how to distribute this profit, if everything is connected with security guarantees. And I do not see this connection in the document yet," he said.
About the alleged preparation of negotiations in Saudi Arabia
Bloomberg reported that a meeting between senior officials from the United States and Russia could take place as early as next week to prepare for a future meeting between the leaders of these countries. According to the agency, representatives of Ukraine have also been invited to the meeting in Saudi Arabia.
"I donʼt know. We didnʼt talk about it. The media is printing something. I saw someone saying that there will be a meeting in Saudi Arabia. I donʼt know what it is," Zelensky noted.
About the elections in Ukraine
According to Zelensky, the issue of elections is not being raised at a high level.
"Putin raises it. Sometimes there are voices from the US, but no one raises it at a high level, everyone understands our law. That this is a violation of the law. And most importantly, that there is no possibility — it is very difficult," he emphasized.
About contracts for 18-24 year olds
"Everyone began to understand that a contract had appeared [for citizens aged 18-24]. This is a very correct step on our part. As they say, if not ʼbusificationʼ. It is a very serious story when a contract is offered to young people. This is understandable to American partners, because their entire army is contract," Zelensky said.
He also emphasized that the number of calls in the West to lower the mobilization age in Ukraine has decreased.
About Russian troops in Transnistria
"We believe that the contingent there is left today, about 2 500. To be honest, I believe that there are 1 000-1 500 Russians left there. They withdrew a few thousand. During the war, they took them everywhere," the head of state said.
At the same time, when asked how the Russians withdrew their troops, Zelensky replied that, in his opinion, this happened through Chisinau. He also noted that the remaining contingent is guarding weapons warehouses.
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