Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said any security guarantees for his country to end the war with Russia would only be meaningful if they were provided by the United States.
He said he hopes to meet soon with US President-elect Donald Trump after his inauguration on January 20.
"Without the US, security guarantees are not possible," he said in a three-hour interview with Lex Friedman, which was published on January 5.
"I'm talking about security guarantees that can prevent Russian aggression," he added.
During this interview, which took place in Kiev, Zelensky spoke in English, Ukrainian and even Russian. He said he believed a ceasefire without security guarantees for Kiev would be used by the Kremlin as an opportunity to resupply and reorganize for new offensives.
As the third anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches, death and destruction continues in many Ukrainian cities, both in the east and in territory occupied by Kremlin forces, but also in Kursk, the Russian border region.
Trump, who has been critical of the amount of US aid provided to Ukraine, has repeatedly vowed to end the conflict quickly, although he has provided few details. Many supporters of Ukraine are worried that he will push forward terms that will be unacceptable to Kiev.
Attempts at a ceasefire are inevitable, in light of Trump's promises to end the war in a short period of time.
The outgoing administration of President Joe Biden, in the last four years, has given Ukraine military aid and other aid worth nearly 60 billion dollars.
Zelensky has a long and difficult history with Trump.
Trump's first impeachment trial in 2019 was prompted by a phone conversation he had with Zelensky, in which Trump appeared to have made US military aid conditional on Ukraine's investigation into the Biden family.
Trump has criticized Zelenksy several times. During the election campaign, he repeatedly described the Ukrainian president as "the best businessman in the world" - a reference to the tens of billions of dollars in aid that bipartisan US lawmakers have approved since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
However, during the interview, Zelensky said he is confident that Trump will deliver a fair, lasting peace deal, along with the required security guarantees.
"Trump and I will come to an agreement ... to provide strong security guarantees, together with Europe, and then we can talk to the Russians. We and Trump are the first, and Europe will support Ukraine's position," he said.
"I think that President Trump not only has the will, but he has all the possibilities, and these are not just words."
"I really count on him and I think our people really count on him, so he has enough power to put pressure on him, to put pressure on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," Zelensky added.
Asked what he wants to consider a cease-fire, Zelensky said it is security guarantees, possibly joining NATO, something Putin has strongly opposed.
NATO membership was one of the initial arguments the Kremlin used to justify the war against Ukraine.
For any deal, Zelensky said Western partners must at least guarantee security in Ukrainian territory not currently occupied by Russia, continue military support and keep economic sanctions against Russia in place.
"If there are no security guarantees, Putin will attack again," he said.
According to him, Putin's goals are a "weak NATO" and a "Ukraine that cannot survive on the battlefield" and "to make a strong relationship with Trump impossible"./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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