Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Fox News' Bret Baier that a peace agreement with Moscow may be closer after his meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday.
“I think we have a problem with one issue: It's about territories,” Zelensky told Baier on the show “Special Report“.
Zelensky is not willing to cede territory held by Russian forces since the start of the war in 2022 to Moscow.
He hinted that Ukraine may be open to withdrawing from the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, which Russia wants to annex, only if Ukrainian voters give their consent to referendum.
“I think that the compromise, if we make a free economic zone and we have to go back a few kilometers, means that Russia has to take small steps back“, Zelensky said.
“This free economic zone will have specific rules. Something like this referendum is the way to accept it or not.“
“Putin does not want peace”, Zelensky said, “despite the growing number of victims of Russian forces”.
“I do not trust Putin. He does not want success for Ukraine“, Zelensky said. “I believe he can say such words to President Trump... but it's not true.“
Zelensky confirmed to the host that he intends to leave his post after the end of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
“Yes,“ Zelensky said in response to the interviewer's question whether he would step down after the end of the conflict.
He said he understood Russian leader Vladimir Putin's distrust of him.
“He doesn't trust me. That's understandable,“ the Ukrainian president said.