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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country could hold elections if Russia agreed to a 60-day total ceasefire, pushing back against US counterpart Donald Trump’s call for Ukraine to pick a new leader.
“First of all, with all respect to President Trump, it’s up to our society, up to our people to choose one or another leader,” Zelensky told ABC News in a televised interview on Sunday, a day after Trump said Ukraine needed a new president who would agree to end the war.
Zelensky said he told Trump’s team that if they really wanted Ukraine to hold elections, “please tell Putin to give us two months, 60 days of total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organise elections.”
US President Trump on Saturday urged Ukraine to replace Volodymyr Zelensky with a new leader, lashing out at him for strikes on Russian oil refineries that have contributed to pre-election high diesel prices.
Trump told reporters at the White House that he had told Zelensky to “do what you want” against Russia, but “don’t hit refineries.”
“He better damn well stop,” Trump said, before adding that he thinks “it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president” who will agree to end the war.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Saturday told Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky he had his “complete solidarity” after he clashed with US President Donald Trump over a diesel deal with Russia.
In a call between the two leaders, Burnham told the Ukrainian president he recognised that “the past 24 hours had been difficult for Ukraine and reiterated his complete solidarity”, according to a readout released by his Downing Street office.
The leaders discussed “the importance of maintaining pressure on Russia”, with Burnham making it clear the UK “would continue to strengthen its sanctions on Russia and to take further action to constrain the Russian war machine, building on new UK designations against Russian targets announced this week”.
They agreed to meet in person in the coming days, the readout added.
AFP
