President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine currently does not have the strength to reclaim occupied Crimea and parts of Donbas, which russia "physically" controls. However, the West could influence the russian dictator putin to force him to come to the negotiating table. Zelensky made this statement during an online conversation with readers of Le Parisien, responding to a question about whether Ukraine could "temporarily" give up Crimea and Donbas, reports Ukrainska Pravda.
"Legally, we cannot give up our territories. This is prohibited by the Constitution of Ukraine. And physically, why these loud words? If physically they control part of our territories today, then they control them. Unfortunately, not us.
And if we currently do not have the strength to reclaim all our territories, then the West might have the strength to put putin in his place at the table (for negotiations) and resolve this war diplomatically", - Zelensky noted.
He also emphasized that "legally, we will not recognize the occupied territories". According to him, this is not a compromise.
"This simply means forgiving him (putin – ed.) for everything. And that is impossible", - said the president.
"Diplomacy does not mean legitimizing his (putin’s) occupation as something lawful on his part. It is a way to end the war diplomatically. And here we need a strong America and a strong Europe to force putin to end the war diplomatically", - Zelensky added.