Speaking at the European Political Community summit in Budapest, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed hope that the United States would remain a strong ally of Europe and Ukraine under Donald Trump’s presidency. He stressed the importance of supporting Ukraine in order to achieve a peace that does not include territorial concessions to Russia.
Zelenskyy said he had a “positive, productive” conversation with Trump, stressing the importance of joint efforts by the US and Europe to achieve a stable peace. He also warned European leaders against the idea of making concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that this would only deepen the crisis.
“Making concessions to Putin is suicide for Europe,” Zelenskyy said, responding to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s calls for peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv. The President of Ukraine stressed that to end the war, it is necessary to increase pressure on Russia, in particular by imposing new sanctions and providing more military assistance to Ukraine.
Against the backdrop of ongoing hostilities, Zelenskyy stressed the need for additional military assistance, weapons, and Ukraine’s accession to NATO, which should help stabilise the situation and increase the security of the country and the region.
