Zelensky says conceding to Russia can’t be a basis for peace talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was speaking at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Thursday during a joint media briefing with President Cyril Ramaphosa.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Union Buildings on 24 April 2025. Picture: Sphamandla Dlamini/EWN
JOHANNESBURG - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that conceding land to Russia cannot be a basis for peace talks.
Zelensky was speaking at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Thursday during a joint media briefing with President Cyril Ramaphosa.
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The Ukrainian leader was in South Africa for a working visit. However, it was cut short following news a Russian missile had hit Kyiv, killing eight and injuring hundreds.
After more than three years of fighting, Zelensky said he was committed to negotiating a peace deal with Russia.
However, Zelensky said giving up Crimea or any other Ukrainian land that Russia had seized was out of the question.
Ramaphosa said peace negotiation talks could not come with preconditions.
"South Africa stands ready to continue to support all credible as well as inclusive multilateral efforts at achieving a just and sustainable comprehensive peace.
"We call upon both Russia and Ukraine to ensure that there is a comprehensive ceasefire, an unconditional ceasefire so that discussions and negotiations can start."
Ramaphosa said Zelensky could take a leaf out of how South Africa negotiated its way out of apartheid into democracy by sitting in the same room with its enemies.