Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to swap land in negotiations with Russia, which freed an American prisoner in a gesture US President Donald Trump’s administration described Tuesday as a goodwill gesture on ending the war.
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Zelensky, who will meet on Friday at the Munich Security Conference with US Vice-President J.D. Vance, a vocal critic of US military support to Ukraine, described himself as ready for serious talks.
“We will swap one territory for another,” he said in an interview with The Guardian.
Zelensky, who in the past has refused to cede any territory invaded by Russia, said he was ready to trade land in Russia’s Kursk region which Ukraine seized in a surprise offensive last year.
He acknowledged that Ukraine would not be able to enjoy security guarantees just with European partners. “Security guarantees without America are not real security guarantees,” he said.
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Trump took office vowing to end the war in Ukraine, possibly by leveraging billions of dollars in US aid sent by his predecessor Joe Biden, to force Kyiv into territorial concessions.