No peace deal at moment, it may not be; it is when it exists not only on paper, but when war stopped – Zelenskyy
An agreement to end the war is valid when it exists not only on paper, but is actually implemented, and currently there is no such agreement, there is a possibility that it will not be, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.
"Peace is better than war, but not at any price, because we have already paid a high price. For us, a just, strong peace is important, so that it cannot be violated by another desire of Putin or another Putin. It is very important that there are strong security guarantees for this, to make it impossible even the thought and physical possibility of coming to us with aggression. This should not be just an agreement – good, bad – the question is for whom is it good, for whom is it bad? I do not want to characterize it. It may not be, it is not there today, there is no agreement today. It is there when it is not only on paper, written in letters, but the war is stopped," Zelenskyy said at a joint press conference with Portuguese Prime Minister Luiz Montenegro on Saturday in Kyiv.
He also gave the example of the Budapest Memorandum. "This agreement did not protect us. So, I do not think that it is strong or effective. Therefore, for me, the agreement is not just a signing," the president said.
"The agreement, by the way, has several agreements, several documents, security guarantees for the United States and Europeans, which must be voted on, supported in Congress. And we also need to know in detail what will happen if Moscow comes with aggression – Americans, Europeans, how will I insure Ukrainians, how will partners insure them?... I believe that the agreement should be fair and effective for Ukraine," Zelenskyy said.