Nov. 21 (UPI) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told his people that the country “may soon face an extremely difficult choice” in response to the peace plan put forward by the President Donald Trump administration.
“Either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner. Either 28 complicated points or the hardest winter yet — and the risks that follow,” the Kyiv Independent reported Zelensky said on Telegram.
The speech came just one day after U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll delivered the plan to Zelensky, who said he is willing to negotiate with Trump.
The president on Thursday indicated that he is giving Ukraine until Thanksgiving to accept the plan. He said on Fox News Radio’s Brian Kilmeade Show, “Well, we have, you know, I’ve had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines,” Trump to a question about the deadline. “But Thursday is, we think, an appropriate time.”
The administration has said that if Zelensky doesn’t accept by the deadline, Ukraine will lose U.S. support, The Washington Post reported.
The plan asks Ukraine to allow Russia to take some Ukrainian territory in the Donbas region in southeast Ukraine. Zelensky has in the past refused any effort to give Russia land. It would also require Ukraine to significantly cut the size of its army and give up many of its weapons.
“Ukraine’s national interest must be taken into account,” Zelensky said in his speech. “We will pursue a calm dialogue with America and all of our partners. There will be a constructive search for solutions with our main partner.”
He also said that the country needs more unity.
“We need to pull ourselves together, stop the quarrels, stop the political games. The state must function. The parliament of a country at war must work in unity. The government must work effectively,” he said.
Some European leaders have voiced their support of Ukraine since the details were released. They’ve insisted that any decisions must be made by Kyiv.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had a joint call with Zelensky Friday and, “agreed to continue to pursue the goal of safeguarding vital European and Ukrainian interests in the long term,” CNN reported.
A German press office statement said that includes “ensuring that the line of contact is the starting point for an understanding and that the Ukrainian armed forces remain capable of effectively defending Ukraine’s sovereignty.”
Zelensky told his people that he would work around the clock and would not betray his country.
“I will present arguments, I will persuade, I will offer alternatives, but we will definitely not give the enemy any reason to say that Ukraine does not want peace, that it is disrupting the process, and that Ukraine is not ready for diplomacy,” he said.
