Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has conditioned the neutrality demanded of his country by Russia by the liberation of the entire territory of Ukraine, including the Donbas region (east) and the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, EFE reports.
In an interview with Saudi Arabian television channel Al Arabiya on Monday evening, Zelenski said that “the Russians insist on neutrality, and for us the most important thing is the liberation of the Donbas and all temporarily occupied territories, as well as the Crimean peninsula, which is also occupied.”
Zelensky has again accused Russia, which is urging Ukraine not to join NATO and to remain neutral, of trying to crush its country through referendums in the occupied territories on its independence, following the model of the one held in Crimea in 2014, when he annexed the peninsula.
In addition to the release of the entire country, the Ukrainian president insisted that in order to accept the neutrality demanded by Moscow, “security guarantees are needed so that Ukraine will not be subject to similar attacks in the future, as well as other types of weapons in case of war like the one now ”.
In any case, he reiterated that any decision in this regard will be subject to “a referendum in which the entire people will participate.”
Regarding the course of negotiations with Russia, Zelenski said that “Russian negotiators do not have the capacity to make decisions, while Russian President Vladimir will always have the last word“, which is why he insists on a direct dialogue with the Russian head of state.
As for the suspension of exports from Ukraine, a matter of concern to several Arab countries, which are largely dependent on the European commodities, such as wheat or sunflower, he said that the siege imposed by Russian warships on Ukrainian ports ‘could cause a global food crisis’ this year.