During a press conference, President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to questions about information from The Wall Street Journal regarding the potential recognition of Crimea as Russian territory, the refusal to join NATO, and the establishment of a neutral zone around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant under US control.
Source: Zelensky's press conference, broadcast by "Suspilne"
Direct quote: "When we start discussing Crimea, we fall into the trap of prolonging the war, which is exactly what Russia wants. We have been at war for 12 years. This is the answer to the question of whether it is possible to negotiate with Russia about territories."
Zelensky emphasized that these are merely signals and ideas, but not an official proposal to Ukraine. He noted that it is unclear whose proposals they are — possibly US perspectives or what they understood after talks with Putin.
Direct quote: "However, Ukraine will never legally recognize Crimea as Russian; this is beyond our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine. We have already stated this regarding any temporarily occupied territory, and the Constitution of Ukraine confirms this."
Zelensky also mentioned that on April 23, the Ukrainian delegation will discuss a mandate for unconditional or partial ceasefire.
"We are ready for this stage. We are also prepared to confirm that after a ceasefire, we are ready to sit down in any format to avoid any deadlock," the president emphasized.
Regarding NATO, Zelensky believes that there is dialogue between the USA and Russia concerning Ukraine's NATO membership.
However, he stated, "No one except NATO countries has the right to veto Ukraine's accession to the Alliance."
On the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the president noted that the plant cannot operate without Ukraine and that the USA will need Ukrainian technical staff.
Direct quote: "If we are to restore the nuclear power plant together with the USA when the Russians leave and we can generate revenue from electricity, that will be a normal situation. However, there has been no official proposal regarding the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Ukraine is open to partnership with America for the restoration of any enterprise."
What preceded this:
The Wall Street Journal reported that the USA is awaiting a response from Kyiv, particularly regarding the recognition of Crimea as Russian and Ukraine's refusal to join NATO. Additionally, the USA is considering the idea of a neutral territory around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.