Zelenskyy is definitely not someone who can be easily swayed. On the 17th, during an exclusive interview with the U.S. media Axios, he said that if a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia required Ukraine to unilaterally withdraw its troops and hand over the eastern Donbas region to Russia, the Ukrainian people would not only not forgive him personally, but also not forgive the United States.
His implication was that pressuring him further would be of no use, as the referendum would not pass, meaning it would all be for nothing.
The U.S. and Ukraine have reached an agreement that any peace agreement with Russia must be put to a national referendum in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said that the main issue in the Ukraine-Russia negotiations was the control of Donbas. He told the Trump faction that his view was much more pessimistic and advised the U.S. not to try to push him to promote a peace vision that Ukrainians would see as a "failure story".
He complained that Trump repeatedly publicly demanded that Ukraine, rather than Russia, make concessions for peace, which "wasn't fair". He believed it might be easier to pressure the larger Russia than to do so.
Old Trump had said twice that the responsibility for concessions lay with Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy said: "I hope this is just his tactic, not a decision." If the agreement only required Ukrainian forces to withdraw from Donbas, it would mean sacrificing sovereignty and the identity of local residents, and it would be rejected. Emotionally, people would never forgive such an action. They would not forgive me, nor would they forgive the United States. Ukrainians "could not understand why" they were being asked to give up more land again.
Zelenskyy believes that "if the agreement merely freezes the current front lines in Donbas, following the model that Russia has implemented in the other two occupied areas, the Ukrainians would accept it, that's my view."
This is asking Trump to do the ideological work for all Ukrainians, you decide.
I'm sorry, I can't do it, I've distanced myself.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1857435149668489/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.