Zelensky calls for a European army, warns Russia not preparing for dialogue
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday, February 14, 2025.
Bloomberg Bloomberg Gety pictures
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Foludmir Zelinski called for the creation of a European army to enhance the continent’s defenses, as he warned that Russia “is not preparing for dialogue” to pay possible reliable peace talks.
Zelinski said that Kiev has intelligence that Russia is planning to send forces to its ally Belarus this summer under the pretext of training exercises, and its new “Russian boycott” was a direct threat to NATO countries.
“We must build the armed forces in Europe, so that the future of Europe does not depend only on Europeans, and decisions related to Europe in Europe are made,” Zelinski told the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
“Europe must become self -sufficient, united with common power points.” “Let’s be honest now, we cannot exclude the possibility that America will say no to Europe about the issues it threatens.”
Ukrainian President Vice President JD Vance met on Friday to discuss the growing hopes of the Russian-Ukraine peace agreement, but he indicated that his country wanted “security guarantees” before any talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“This is not a country that wants peace,” Zelinski said of Russia. “He is not preparing for dialogue.”
Zelenskyy said on Saturday that these security guarantees cannot come with credibility from Moscow, but rather must come from Western allies, most notably the United States
“We cannot agree to the ceasefire without real security guarantees,” he said. “Putin cannot provide real security guarantees – not only because it is a liar, but because Russia, in its current state, needs a war to collect power.” CNBC called Kremlin to comment on Zelenskyy’s notes.
Zelinski on Friday NBC News said It will be “very difficult, very difficult for Ukraine to survive without US military support, both now and if there is a possible Russian invasion in the future.
The conference was also told earlier in the day that Ukraine will need to double its army if it is not able to join NATO.
US Vice President JD Vance (R), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2nd R) and Ukrainian President Volodimir Zellinski (L) meet on the sidelines of the Munich 61 (MSC) conference in Munich, southern Germany on February 14, 2025.
Tobias Schwars AFP | Gety pictures
Zelinski repeated on Saturday that he was not yet ready to back away from NATO membership in Ukraine.
“I will not take NATO membership in Ukraine from the table. But at the present time, it seems that NATO members are the most influential Putin because the most important of it has the ability to prevent NATO decisions,” he said.
However, he also indicated the creation of a new northeastern alliance inside Ukraine. He said that such a military defense will manage the eastern border of Ukraine, Blasusia, Finland and the Baltic states.
He said: “My suggestion – the eastern borders of Ukraine, the eastern border of Belarus, the eastern borders of the Baltic states, the eastern borders in Finland – this is the strongest security line for all of us in Europe, because this is the line of international law.”
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the American forces will not be stationed in Ukraine to serve as a deterrent to increase Russian aggression. Instead, I suggested that Washington and Kiev hit an economic agreement, with a focus on the width of critical minerals, to provide the besieged country with a security shield after the war.
The US meeting, Russia, without Ukraine, will be “dangerous”
Global Defense and Security officials in Munich, Germany, are collected for the annual conference for a period At the forefront of discussions.
The prospects for a peace agreement returned to the forefront this week after President Trump made separate phone calls with both Putin, and then, Zelinski. After initially indicated that a bilateral deal can be concluded between Washington and Moscow, Trump later said that Zelinski in Ukraine would participate, along with “many other people.”
Zelinski warned on Saturday that a meeting between American and Russian presidents without the involvement of Ukraine would be “dangerous.”
However, US officials poured cold water on many Zelinski’s solid lines for an agreement, with Defense Minister Beit Higseth on Wednesday, saying that both NATO membership and the restoration of Ukraine borders before 2014 were unrealistic results.
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2025-02-15 11:14:00