Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s rhetoric: the evolution of the position on negotiations with Russia during the war

Peace. This word is now heard in every corner of Ukraine, becoming desirable and necessary for millions of people. With a desire for peace, Ukrainians follow every step and statement of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi with hope and anxiety. His rhetoric became a key element in shaping the national position on negotiations with Russia during the war. We will analyze key speeches, statements and interviews that reflect the evolution of the position of the head of state. This study will allow us to understand how the leader of a country at war adapts his strategy depending on the circumstances and the influence of internal and external factors.

Statements of Volodymyr Zelenskyi in 2022

Since his election in 2019, the President of Ukraine has promised Ukrainians to establish peace in Donbas, emphasizing the need for dialogue and negotiations. However, the people’s hopes for peace were never realized…

In early September 2022, Putin announced the annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions of Ukraine. At the same time, he offered Ukraine to sit down at the negotiating table, but without discussing the status of the occupied territories. In response to this, on September 30, 2022, the NSDC decision was published on the website of the President of Ukraine, which eloquently stated the impossibility of negotiations with the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. At the same time, Zelenskyi supported the NSDC’s decision with his own Decree No. 679/2022 about the absolute impossibility of negotiations with Putin.

On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in his video message that Ukraine is ready for a dialogue with the Russian Federation, but with another of its leaders.

“Today I held a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The meeting of the National Security and Defense Council has just ended. We have a solution. First, only the path of strengthening Ukraine and expelling the occupiers from our entire territory will bring peace back. We will go this way.

It was our state that always offered Russia to agree on coexistence on equal, honest, dignified and fair terms. It is obvious that this is impossible with this Russian president. He does not know what dignity and honesty are. Therefore, we are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but already with another president of Russia.”, – emphasized Zelensky.

In the same fall, during the G20 summit in Indonesia, Zelenskyy announced the Peace Formula, which consisted of ten points.

“Radiation and nuclear safety, food security, energy security, the release of all prisoners and deportees, the implementation of the UN charter and the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the world order, the withdrawal of Russian troops and the cessation of hostilities, the return of justice, that is, a tribunal for those guilty of aggression, and compensation damage, countering ecocide, security guarantees for Ukraine and fixing the end of the war”. – these points were voiced by the president.

With the beginning of the military aggression of the Russian Federation on a scale that Europe had not seen during the Second World War, the rhetoric of the President of Ukraine changed. The head of state faced a difficult choice: to support diplomatic efforts, which he considered the only way to stability, or to oppose the Russian Federation at any cost.

The first request for negotiations took place immediately after the start of the full-scale invasion — on February 25, 2022, Volodymyr Zelenskyi invited Putin to sit down and negotiate.

“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not just an invasion, it is the beginning of a war against Europe. Against the unity of Europe. Against elementary human rights in Europe. Against all the rules of coexistence on the continent. Against the fact that European states refuse to divide borders by force.

I want to appeal to the President of the Russian Federation once again. Fighting is going on all over the territory of Ukraine. Let’s sit down at the negotiating table to stop the loss of life.” – stated Zelensky on February 25, 2022.

It was one of the Ukrainian leader’s first public calls for peace talks, which emphasized the need for an immediate end to the violence.

At the beginning of March 2022, during a meeting with foreign journalists, the President of Ukraine once again confirmed his readiness to sit down at the negotiating table:

“What do you want from us? Get off our land. If you don’t want to go now, sit down at the negotiating table. I am free. Just don’t stand 30 meters away from me like Macron and Scholz. I am your neighbor, you should not stand 30 meters away from me. I’m a normal person, let’s sit together and talk. What are you afraid of?”.

In addition, Zelenskyi commented on the proposal of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Lavrov, when he stated that the president of Ukraine can, if he wishes, come to Moscow, Sochi or St. Petersburg to discuss the normalization of bilateral relations with the Russian Federation. Zelensky criticized the following proposal:

“The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia says that we cannot discuss the issue of Donbas, it is an “internal” issue. How can I not talk about Donbas? The whole world is talking about Donbas. I want to meet, I’m not afraid of any format. But why invite me to Sochi? So that I can go skiing? Let’s meet in Odessa, swim in the sea”, – said Zelensky.

However, in September 2022, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi in an interview with an American TV channel CNN stated that negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin are currently impossible.

“As of today, no. I don’t see any desire on their part to be constructive. As for their ultimatums, I don’t care who issued these ultimatums – Putin or someone else. This is my principle – I will not talk to someone who gives ultimatums”, – said Zelensky.

He also noted that any agreement between Ukraine and Russia can be concluded only in case of complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.

“I know that some countries are pushing us in the direction of the Minsk process. I want the world to recognize that one thing is a diplomatic solution, and another is Minsk-2, 3, 5, 10. These are two different things, because Minsk is a blank piece of paper that will allow Russia to rest before the next invasion.” – stated President of Ukraine.

The most important stage of the negotiations took place in Istanbul on March 29, 2022. The parties discussed the draft security plan, and the Russian side announced the withdrawal of its troops from the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions. This was seen as a big step forward, but the dialogue did not continue after that.

Later, already in 2024, Zelenskyy named the reason for the failure of negotiations with Russia in Istanbul

“The negotiations in Istanbul in March 2022 were unsuccessful due to the fact that the Russian dictator Putin can only speak the language of ultimatums.

The Minsk agreements were an ultimatum, and the conflict was frozen. He needed this pause to prepare for a full-scale invasion. Therefore, any ultimatums for Putin are a need for a pause. Pause to prepare your troops, train them. Because he has already lost his trained army.” – said President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi during a press conference following the results of the Peace Summit in Switzerland.

Statements of Volodymyr Zelenskyi in 2023

In December 2023, the President of Ukraine answered questions from journalists from Ukrainian and foreign mass media for more than two hours live. He emphasized that he does not yet see in the rhetoric of the Russian Federation a request for negotiations, but only “insolence and murder.” He believed that the only platform for talking with the Russian Federation is the implementation of the “peace formula”.

The head of state also admitted that the process of providing security guarantees to Ukraine “is progressing, but a little slower than expected.” According to him, the “most powerful option” for the security of our country is to join NATO, but Ukraine has not yet been invited there.

In December 2023, in an interview with Latin American media, Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that the President of the Russian Federation does not need peace in Ukraine.

“First of all, he (the president of the Russian Federation – ed.) does not need peace. When we want to solve a problem, we must understand that it is necessary for all parties. We want to end the war.

I do not imagine negotiations with the Russian dictator or the Russian side about people living in the occupied territories of Ukraine.

How can I negotiate with Putin? Let’s forget for a second that he’s a murderer. With the Russian side. How can I negotiate with him about people who are in some towns-villages, which were occupied, who live there. And here two people or two teams sit down and say: let them be yours. Who are we to decide where a person should live, who to be, what language to speak, which flag to respect? Who are we?”, – emphasized the head of state.

In May 2023, when the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was about to begin, Volodymyr Zelenskyi in a rather sharp manner commented on the possibility of negotiations with Putin during a conversation with the host of the Italian TV channel Porta a Porta.

“We decided for a long time, Putin, I’m sorry, as a princess, I couldn’t find a format in which we would meet.” – said the president, recalling 2019.

In the autumn of the same year, when it was clear that the Ukrainian counteroffensive did not significantly change the situation at the front, Zelensky once again sharply stated that the Ukrainian authorities have no intention of sitting down at the negotiating table with Russia.

Statements of Volodymyr Zelenskyi in 2024

In November, the President of Ukraine stated that Ukraine is not ready to lose Crimea and Donbas for the sake of a ceasefire and peace.

“Yes, we can stop the war if we hand over Donbas and Crimea to Russia. But our country is not ready for such a “peace plan”.

We do not believe that Putin or Russia want to end the war. They want to kill us. And we want justice. Therefore, we do not talk about peace at any price. We talk about a just peace, and when we talk about fatigue, it is very important to remember where it comes from. Is it hard on the battlefield? So. But to be friends or sit down at the diplomatic table for negotiations with Russia? No!” Zelensky told Fox News.

He admitted that Ukrainians are tired of constant airstrikes, shelling, the destruction of their homes and the killing of their loved ones. However, in contrast to this, the president emphasized:

“If we ask them, are you ready to surrender to Russia, give our lands? Are you ready to talk to the Russians about how to end this? Are you personally ready for a compromise with Putin and are you tired of it? They will say that we are not tired. We are ready to continue,” – said Volodymyr Zelenskyi in an interview with the American publication Fox News.

While preparing for the first Global Summit in Switzerland, Zelenskyi’s statements regarding possible negotiations with Russia sounded in the same harsh tone. In April 2024, he announced that during the meeting, a detailed map would be developed regarding the end of this war “from the point of view of a just peace, based on the resolutions of the agreements.” However, the summit, on which Kyiv had high hopes, did not bring the desired results, so over time the president’s statements about peace negotiations changed and became less sharp. A few days later, in an interview for a foreign publication, President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a model of negotiations through intermediaries.

At the end of June 2024, in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Volodymyr Zelensky suggested the possibility of negotiations with the Russian Federation. According to him, today he sees only one model – a tripartite agreement with intermediaries, which was previously used in relation to the work of the “grain” corridor:

“Ukraine can find a model in which solutions can be found. This model was applied for the first time on the example of the grain corridor, when Ukraine negotiated not with Russia, but with the UN and Turkey. They, in turn, assumed the responsibility of negotiating with us, and then signing the relevant agreement with the Russian Federation. And this is how it worked: two mirror agreements between which are the UN and Turkey.”

At the same time, the head of our state noted that a similar model can be applied in territorial integrity, energy, and shipping. It is currently unknown which countries could become mediators. It is likely that among them will be Turkey, which has repeatedly declared its willingness to mediate. Another reason is that Turkey and Russia have diplomatic and economic relations.

In August, Volodymyr Zelenskyy surprised many with his next statement. In an interview with the French mass media, he spoke about the possibility of holding a referendum in the country on territorial concessions to Russia in exchange for peace. It may be possible if the people want it, but such a referendum is “not the best option, since Ukraine is dealing with Putin.”

“For a referendum, it is necessary that the Ukrainian people want it… I will tell you honestly, this is not the best option, because we are dealing with Putin, and for him it will be a victory – to take away parts of our territories”, – said Zelensky.

Also, answering journalists’ questions about whether he is open to the idea of ​​holding such a referendum, the President of Ukraine said that “some time will pass anyway, and if it is a frozen conflict, Putin can come again and attack.”

“Not all territories must be won back with hands, and not all territories must be won back with weapons. I believe that it can take a lot of time and a lot of people. And I think that’s not very good. And that is why, I believe, it is possible to win back one’s territories diplomatically. To be honest, we built the Peace Formula for this, when it is possible to put political pressure on Putin with the whole world.

Any questions about the territorial integrity of Ukraine is a question that cannot be decided by the president or any person in the world, or all the presidents of the world. This is impossible without the Ukrainian people. This is the territory of the Constitution of Ukraine… Ukraine will never give up its territories. It has no right to officially renounce its territories.” – summed up Zelensky.

On June 28, Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a new one statement on negotiations with the Russian Federation and the end of the war. He publicly spoke about what is happening on the battlefield, how many people are dying, and what needs to be done now to stop the aggression of the Russian Federation.

In addition, on July 19, Volodymyr Zelenskyi gave an exclusive interview to the BBC during his visit to Great Britain. He said that with the support of allies, Ukraine can “try to end the hot stage of the war by the end of this year.”

“I believe that if we are united and follow, for example, the format of the Peace Summit, we can end the hot stage of the war. We can try to do it before the end of this year.

The plan will be ready. If it brings an end to the hot stage of the war, it will be very right and very strong. This plan must be shared with the partners – it also depends on their desire that no one plays with their initiatives to end the war. Ukraine’s partners should put pressure on Russia so that Russia agrees to sit down and think about ending the war

This does not mean that all territories must be conquered by force. I believe that the power of diplomacy can help. A weaker Russia on the battlefield will put Ukraine in a stronger position at the negotiating table. If you put pressure on Russia, I believe that it is possible to agree on a diplomatic settlement.” – believes Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

As we can see, from the first days of the conflict to the present moment, Volodymyr Zelenskyi has gone through a difficult path, changing his position and approach to conducting diplomatic talks. In the light of constant changes in the political arena and unpredictable steps on the part of the aggressor, the evolution of Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s rhetoric is not just a political process, but a mirror of the mood of the entire Ukrainian society.

From the first cautious statements to clear and categorical positions, the president of Ukraine demonstrates readiness for dialogue, but not at the expense of national interests and security. Zelenskyi’s rhetoric, with its shades of hope, confidence and determination, reflects the complex and multifaceted reality of modern Ukraine. In this context, his words become not just statements, but a symbol of the struggle for a just peace. And although the path to the final settlement of the conflict is still long, the evolution of Zelenskyi’s rhetoric shows that he is ready for difficult but necessary steps on this path. And this inspires hope for the speedy end of the war and the arrival of the long-awaited peace for all.