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Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has clarified his statements made in an interview with the British broadcaster BBC, where he admitted the possibility of Ukraine temporarily giving up some of its territories in exchange for an end to the war. According to Klitschko, it was not about his personal position, but about a scenario that is being actively discussed in the world.
This was stated in a message posted on Klitschko’s Facebook page.
“Perhaps I should clarify. In my interview with BBC journalists, I said that Ukraine could be forced to make territorial concessions in exchange for ending the war. Unfortunately, as we can see, this scenario is quite possible. And many global politicians and the media are talking about it today. Therefore, by voicing this, I did not open up America,” the mayor explained.
He stressed that Ukrainians will never accept Russia’s occupation of the country and that such scenarios are contrary to Ukraine’s national interests.
“We understand that the scenario of territorial concessions is contrary to our national interests and we must fight against its implementation to the last. This will require extraordinary efforts from both us and our European partners,” Klitschko said.
Context: Earlier, in an interview with the BBC published on 24 April, Vitali Klitschko said that one of the scenarios for achieving peace could be the temporary relinquishment of territories:
“It is not fair. But for peace, temporary peace, this can be a temporary solution,” the Kyiv mayor said.
At the same time, he stressed that the Ukrainian people “will never accept the occupation” and that President Zelenskyy would probably be forced to make “painful decisions” to end the fighting.
When asked if he had discussed these issues directly with the president, Klitschko replied:
“No. President Zelensky is doing it himself. This is not my function.”
