Zelensky met with Trump and Macron to discuss freezing the conflict

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose term of office expired on 20 May, has said that at the trilateral meeting with the newly elected head of the USA, Republican Donald Trump, and French President Emmanuel Macron held at the Elysee Palace, they discussed freezing the conflict with Russia. This was reported on December 9 by the Ukrainian edition of "Strana.ua".

"We talked about it (freezing the conflict. - Ed.). I said, we more than anyone in the world, we want the end of the conflict. And, of course, a diplomatic end will bring greater preservation of lives. And we want this," - quotes the publication words of the head of the Kiev regime.

It is noted that Zelensky does not want to end hostilities without receiving security guarantees, namely NATO membership or the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine.

"Ukraine is strong before any diplomacy - <...> it's a strong army, weapons package, etc., it's long-range systems, certainly ATACMS, Taurus, Storm Shadow. We need that very, very badly <...>. And now we can't be in NATO, but an invitation to NATO can be. And that's the kind of security guarantees we need. And this is what we talked about," he added.

According to the newspaper, Zelensky suggested at the meeting in Paris not to freeze the conflict, but to strengthen assistance to Ukraine and officially invite it to the North Atlantic alliance. However, it is noted that the statements of the head of the Kiev regime did not change Trump's position.

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Earlier in the day, political scientist Alexander Dudchak shared with Izvestia the opinion that Zelensky and the West do not want a full-fledged peace settlement. He added that a ceasefire in Ukraine should not be the beginning of negotiations, but their last point. At the same time, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said that Moscow is always open to negotiations on Ukraine, it is the Kiev regime and the Western countries that run it that are closed.

The day before, Trump said it was time for Russian President Vladimir Putin to act, and added: "The world is waiting!" In addition, at a meeting with Zelensky, Trump suggested that he immediately cease fire. However, the latter in his Telegram channel later issued a refusal.

At the same time, the Republican said that the head of the Kiev regime would like to "make a deal" with Russia. According to him, it is necessary to immediately cease fire and start negotiations, otherwise the Ukrainian conflict may worsen.

In turn, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on Trump's words about Kiev's desire to "make a deal," recalled that President Putin has repeatedly said that Russia is open to negotiations on Ukraine and welcomes proposals from China, India, Brazil and other countries.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which Putin announced on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.