During a press conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to questions regarding information from The Wall Street Journal that suggests the US may recognize Crimea as Russian, Ukraine's withdrawal from 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: "Whenever we start discussing Crimea, we enter a framework of prolonging the war – which is exactly what Russia wants. We have been fighting for 12 years, and that answers the question of whether it's possible to negotiate with Russia about territories."
Details: Regarding media reports about the proposals, Zelensky stated that "these are signals, ideas, visions, it can be called differently. But this is not an official proposal to Ukraine."
Zelensky noted that it is unclear whose proposals these are. It might be the perspective of the US, or it might be what the Americans understood after conversations with Putin.
Direct quote: "But Ukraine will not legally recognize Crimea as Russian; this is beyond our Constitution. This is our territory, the land of the Ukrainian people. This will not happen; I believe we have already made this statement about any temporarily occupied territory. And the Constitution of Ukraine asserts this by its existence."
Details: Zelensky added that on April 23, the Ukrainian delegation will have a mandate to discuss unconditional or partial ceasefire.
"We are ready for this stage. We are also prepared to confirm that after the ceasefire, we are ready to sit down in any format to avoid any deadlock," emphasized the head of state.
Regarding NATO, Zelensky is confident that there is a dialogue between the US and Russia regarding Ukraine's membership in NATO.
However, "no one but NATO countries has the right to veto Ukraine's accession to the Alliance," he stated.
As for the Zaporizhzhia NPP, the president noted that the plant will not operate without Ukraine, and the US will need Ukrainian technical staff.
Direct quote: "If we are to restore the NPP together with the US after the Russians leave, and we earn money from electricity – that is a normal story. But there has been no official proposal regarding the NPP. Ukraine is open to partnerships with America concerning the restoration of any enterprise."
What preceded: The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States is awaiting a response from Kyiv regarding the recognition of Crimea as Russian and Ukraine's withdrawal from NATO. Additionally, the US is considering the idea of a neutral territory around the NPP.