"It is simply unfair," Zelenskyy urges America not to put pressure on Ukraine

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has urged the United States of America not to put pressure on Ukraine but on the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, blaming him of not wanting peace. "We need to pursue every possible avenue to stop the war," he said.

The Ukrainian president stated, "The American negotiating track will continue. We’re counting on them to put more pressure on Putin, not on us. Otherwise, it’s simply unfair."

The American negotiating track will continue. We’re counting on them to put more pressure on Putin, not on us. Otherwise, it’s simply unfair. As for our meetings with the American side – we expect to meet and are ready to meet in Ukraine or in Europe. If they want to meet in America, let them invite us. We’re ready to negotiate anywhere, and we’re ready for any format: three-way, two-way, four-way, five-plus – it doesn’t matter. What matters is peace. The American side has given us a signal that our meeting with them can happen next week. And, of course, in my view, Europeans need to have their own infrastructure and their own track for negotiations with Russia. We need to pursue every possible avenue to stop the war. We’ll also speak separately with Türkiye. I plan to talk separately with President Erdoğan about the sea and food security, and with representatives of Middle Eastern countries. Regarding a meeting with Putin, the United States is working on this. They have a proposal for a trilateral meeting. This meeting can take place in one of the Middle Eastern countries. The United States has always mentioned the UAE or Saudi Arabia. Another possibility is for the meeting to take place in the United States during the G20 summit. But there has been no confirmation yet from Russia or from the United States. The meeting could also take place in one of the European countries. I know that the Europeans are starting contacts about this. We’ll see how things turn out a little later. From answers to journalists’ questions. (3/3)

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 17, 2026