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Kyiv won't give up land

Kyiv won't give up land

Daily Tribune4 days ago
Ukraine won't surrender land to Russia to buy peace, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned yesterday, after Washington and Moscow agreed to hold a summit in a bid to end the war.
Presidents Vladimir Put i n and Donald Trump will meet in the US state of Alaska on August 15, to try to resolve the three-year conflict, despite warnings from Ukraine and Europe that Kyiv must be part of negotiations.
Announcing the summit on Friday, Trump said that "there'll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both" Ukraine and Russia, without providing further details.
"Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupier," Zelensky said on social media hours later.
"Any decisions against us, any decisions without Ukraine, are also decisions against peace. They will achieve nothing," he said, adding that the war "cannot be ended without us, without Ukraine".
Zelensky also urged Ukraine's allies to take "clear steps" towards achieving a sustainable peace, during a call with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
National security advisors from Kyiv's allies -- including the United States, EU nations and the UK -- were gathering in Britain on Saturday to align their views ahead of the Putin-Trump summit.
"It is truly important that the Russians do not succeed in deceiving anyone again," Zelensky said after a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, without elaborating further.
Three rounds of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine this year have failed to bear fruit, and it remains unclear whether a summit could bring peace any closer as the warring sides' positions are still far apart.
Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire.
Zelensky said Kyiv was "ready for real decisions that can bring peace" but said it should be a "dignified peace", without giving details.
Putin, a former KGB officer in power in Russia for over 25 years, has ruled out holding talks with Zelensky at this stage.
Zelenksy has been pushing for a threew a y summit and has frequently said meeting Putin is the only way to make progress towards peace.
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