However, he said Kyiv could hold elections if Russia agreed to a 60-day ceasefire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, reacting to US President Donald Trump’s call for him to be replaced, said the decision on Ukraine’s leadership rested with its people.
White House did not give any details till Zelensky said he had told Trump’s team: “Please tell Putin give us two months, 60 days of total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organise elections.
“First of all, with all respect to President Trump, it’s up to our society, up to our people to choose one or another leader,” Zelensky told ABC News in a televised interview on Sunday. Addressing Trump’s call for elections, Zelensky said he had asked the US president’s team to secure a temporary ceasefire from Moscow. On Sunday, Trump announced an ‘energy ceasefire’ between Russia and Ukraine but Zelensky said it was ‘news for him’ as well.
Trump’s decision to temporarily waive Russian oil sanctions has drawn criticism from Ukraine and several US allies in Europe, as well as some members of his own Republican Party.
Zelensky stressed the importance of continued US support and said he hoped the latest disagreement would not undermine unity among Ukraine’s allies. Earlier reporting noted: “First of all, with all respect to President Trump, it’s up to our society, up to our people to choose one or another leader,” Zelensky said in an interview with ABC News. Earlier reporting noted: Zelensky further said that he told Trump’s team that if they wanted Ukraine to hold elections, “tell Putin give us two months, 60 days of total ceasefire, 60 days, and we will organise elections.”
Earlier reporting noted: ‘Up to our people to choose leader’: Zelensky pushes back after Trump says Ukraine needs new president Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday countered US President Donald Trump’s call for the former’s replacement, asserting in an interview that choosing their head of state or leader is up to Ukrainian citizens.
