Zelenskyy to Trump: Put more pressure on Putin

Thank you so much. First of all, thank you for your coming. It's so important. Really, the focus on Ukraine is very important. And using this opportunity, or journalists, famous journalists, all the journalists from different countries, when we have them in Ukraine, when you can come and speak about Ukraine, just speak what you see. No messages from us, something specific or something special for us. It's more about how to show wider what's going on, people and the world not to forget what the aggression of Russia means. So that's why, answering your question, of course we need focus on Ukraine. We need to hold this focus. And of course, anyway, when you have another big challenge in the Middle East, a new war, because this is real war, and of course some kind of shifting from Ukraine's focus is going on. This is what we see.

The challenge was, I agree with you and a little bit not, because it's a pity about our partners. With all respect to them, they didn't give us all this package what the Middle East has, for example, all this package with Patriot or other missiles. We are very thankful to partners that they gave, or European partners who could buy from the American side missiles, but it's not enough. And all these big volume of Patriot missiles, all these, the Middle East had it. To be very honest, and of course, so this is not because of this war in the Middle East, such deficit of missiles, not because of this. But you're right that we will have this challenge. Now we have not a big number of missiles. But I think this war will have influence on decreasing the number of missiles, decreasing all the opportunity to get more missiles, Patriot 3, Patriot 2. This is really what we see. And as you've been totally right about sanctions, this is a big risk for the world, for Ukraine first of all and for the whole world. Such a decision. I hope that they will not, how to say it, put off the sanctions. Yes. But we see the first signals of thinking about some less sanctions on energy, on first of all oil, Russian oil and gas. Yes. And I hope that they will not do it. I mean, Americans, I know that they think about it, but it's a big challenge. It's a big risk for us, for all the infrastructure. That if you are the aggressor and the world is stopping you not by forces, by sanctions, and if it's the question of time, not the question of peace, it means that in four years of the war, you can be, I mean, you can be all these four years under sanctions, and then just one or another energy critical moment like we have now can really delay all the sanctions. This is a big risk.

I hope so. So first of all, we spoke about it in Munich conference, in Davos, and before. During the last one year and a half, I shared the idea of common forces, common European defending forces. Not about any kind of offensive or any kind of involvement of other soldiers of other countries to the war here in Ukraine. No, I spoke about defending lines. I spoke about how to close the sky in all of Europe. We have such understanding what to do. We have such technologies and we have such experience. And this is exactly this. We proposed the United States in our drone deal. We wanted to sign a drone deal, a big drone deal with the productions of the United States, but we needed very much the exception from the White House. Yes, it's all about different kind of drones, different kind of air defense. They work in one system and they can defend hundreds or thousands of Iranian Shaheds and missiles. We didn't have yet the opportunity to sign this document. I hope maybe American friends will be closer to this question, especially after such a challenge what we see in the Middle East. But yes, the countries of the Middle East, on the level of presidents, they asked the Ukrainian side to share our knowledge, our experience, and maybe some technical resources. And three of our teams, they are already on the way to these countries.

First of all, of course, we send our groups to the Middle East and of course we hope that they will help us with some missiles for Patriot 2, Patriot 3. You just have to know about it. The second point, of course, we count on money. We need money for our internal production. And I think it is very important for us and for Europe. So it's not the conflict between Hungary and Ukraine. It's the conflict between Europe and Hungary, and even correctly to say between Europe and the Hungarian Prime Minister, because it's not about Hungarian society. And so this is not just a conflict, it's not about one reason or another, because the Prime Minister of Hungary, he blocked all these ways of sanctions policy during all this year. He blocked transit of weapons through Hungary. They never helped us with military support. From the very beginning of this war, they said clearly that they will not support Ukraine because they have real friends in Russia, and they are friends, strategic partners. This is where I said that it was important for them. That's why they blocked everything during all this way. That's why it's not something personal. It's not about personal. It's about all Ukrainian lives and security of Ukraine and security of Europe. And that's why if this is not a conflict, if there is a different way of life, because Russia is an enemy. They began this war without any kind of understandable reasons. They began the aggression and they have allies. And they have the North Korean leader. They have also Belarus, not even society, I'm about the regime of Belarus, because the war began from the territory of Belarus, the full-scale war. Then they have, it's a pity, they have China which is supporting them, helping them. Yes, it depends on what volume of these machineries or weapons, but I mean, we understand that they help them in sanctions policy, how to circumvent the sanctions. And of course, the Hungarian Prime Minister, he helps.

Yes, of course, I think yes.

Well, it means do you stand on that side, do you support the... He's standing on the side of the Russian leader. He's doing the same, blocking everything for Ukraine. Only one thing he doesn't do today. He is not attacking by missiles or drones our territory and he is not sending his soldiers. Yes. This is only one thing. But he's blocking money and blocking weapons, blocking our way to the EU, our way of life. Yes. And also with Russian narratives. He's sharing the same narratives. This person is doing this. So it's not up to him because he's one of the leaders of the EU in the question of the EU. That's why it's, I think, the dialogue between the EU and him.

It's a question of security of Ukraine and Europe. That's why, yes, you are right. But partially we need plan B. I agree with you. But not we. We and Europe. We all need this plan B. I think so. As I think that if our European partners and real friends, they know that we defend not only Ukrainian values, we are defending freedom of all Europe. If it's a fact and if it's true that our partners shared with me personally and publicly with people, so it means that it's a big challenge for all of us.

It's difficult to say because we are not speaking. He was invited by me, our country invited, and the Slovak Prime Minister, by the way, with him we spoke by phone. I invited him and he said yes, we have to fix the date, and then he disappeared. But also the Hungarian Prime Minister, I mean, he was invited also by me to visit Ukraine. I said it also to the Slovak Prime Minister that we can meet bilaterally or we can meet in a trilateral format, and that's it. Now the question is that they want Russian oil, and as I understood, what the European Commission told me, they want Russian oil. And if Ukraine will not transit Russian oil, they will block money. We have to, in such case, if it's, I don't know in English, you have the same, blackmail. Yeah. We have the word blackmail. So if it's blackmail, so I said okay, we will renovate if the EU doesn't have any kind of signals to the Hungarian issue and Hungarian messages. So we will renovate. I said it to your Commission.

I'm not thinking about his elections. I think that he has a long political life. I'm not sure that my messages had influence five years ago or 10 years ago. I think I was not in the presidential cabinet all these years. But he was the Prime Minister with all his rhetoric against the EU, and I didn't see strong messages from European leaders who can stop this person who is dividing the EU. So I'm not sure that in this case silence, no diplomatic silence, is very helpful because we see his way of life. I'm just, we are defending our lives, defending our country. If he doesn't want to support, it's up to him. But he can't be against us because he is immediately an ally of Putin. It's not for me. It's for all our people. And this is where we are.

No, it was before Druzhba. No, it's what Orban tries to increase, the topic about the pipeline. No, the pipeline worked. We've been against, I was from the very beginning against to sell Russian oil because it's the policy of two standards. We are fighting against Russian aggression but at the same way we have to sell this oil because we had in the past such decisions. That's why I think it's two standards policy. I'm against it but I couldn't be against it judicially. And when Russia destroyed this pipeline, I said okay, but it destroyed it, why we have to renovate it again? This was my position. But again, it's my personal position. It doesn't mean that this is the reason. The Prime Minister blocked weapon transit through Hungary. It was the last logistic ways. Then he blocked some Russian personalities, he was blocking personal Russian oligarchs. And now in this new package also they try to cancel the sanctions on Russian oligarchs again and again. And also they always blocked sanctions about any kind of Russian energy, even if it's not about Hungary, nuclear energy, or it was about some other issues, not only energy issues. I mean, during this war they had so many meetings in Moscow with Russian enemies for us, enemies, and they always said that they are their friends and partners, etc. That's why it's not about the pipeline.

We already managed this. I said already, our team told that we will need one month and a half to renovate one line. One line. If it will be a blackmail that they will not give us money, I mean Europe will not give us money, and they need for this only Russian oil, yes, it's up to them. Yes, it will be possible in one month and a half if we want to renovate the reservoirs which have been destroyed. And you can see it, you can look at this. Every tactical group will tell you that we need for this minimum six months to renovate the biggest reservoir. But we found a way how to manage in one month and a half. It will work, but it will be dangerous for our ecology, but it will work. It will be dangerous if it will be destroyed again by Russians. But I can't tell you exactly that it will be. But it was several times, not once. After the first time when the pipeline was attacked by Russian drones and missiles, not Hungarians and not Slovaks, they didn't speak with Russians publicly. We didn't hear that they asked Russians not to attack this pipeline. No, they only asked us to renovate and renovate it again.

Of course, people are tired because of the war, because they are surviving. But in a very, how to say, in a very human way, you know, they didn't lose their dignity. Yes. And they themselves, they didn't lose themselves. And that's why I think this is so important that people are ready for the peace, they want peace, of course, but they are not ready for Russian ultimatums. And it's not about this pressure, it's about the question of how to be fair between us. So then I think that people didn't lose their values and didn't lose this feeling of real life, freedom, and even in such difficult circumstances. That's why I think that yes, the morale, yes, people are tired, but the morale is on a high level in any way.

We want to end this war in a negotiation way, in a diplomatic way, and that's why we have to hold the front. It's not about big offensive operations. Yes, we've made some steps, offensive steps. They've been successful at the end of the last year and at the very beginning of this year. Yes, we brought back the control on 430 square kilometers. But I mean, this is some operations on the battlefield, how better to hold the front line, it's all about it. Because we are preparing and we are ready for a diplomatic way. It's not the question what Russia has. Their goal is to occupy us.

I think Ukraine demonstrated a lot of compromises already. The first one, they killed so many people. They began this war. Now, President Trump didn't raise the questions of accountability, and nobody speaks about it. And of course we speak about it, and everybody is trying to forget about already occupied territories, about the part of this war which began from the occupation of Crimea and the part of Donbas. Yeah. So they are trying to find compromise between us, to sit with Russians, to support ceasefire. What President Trump's team proposed in Saudi Arabia one year ago, already one year ago, we supported this. Is it a compromise? Was it a compromise from our side? Of course, to stay where we stay and they don't move back to the Russian land and they are not occupying the territory what they occupied. Is it not compromise? I think it's a very big compromise. Don't forget about such a big number of losses. The biggest compromise was at the very beginning of Trump's term when he said that look, we have to stop and freeze the conflict. We need ceasefire and then everything will be after in a diplomatic way of negotiations. And they said that if you will not stop, we will not help. What is, I think, it was the biggest compromise on what all our nation has been ready and ready still. So, but you know, after such compromises, Russia is not, it's not enough for Russia, and they wanted more and more and more. It's slow occupation. It's not about the compromising way of life.

We have our life and of course we strengthen our soldiers, we try to manage the economy, pay salaries, and not ready to give our country to Putin. And that's why, of course, we need negotiations, we support them. Can I believe in or hope? It's not about hoping, it's not about trusting Putin. We don't trust Russia. But I think and I trust that Americans really want to finish with this war. I hope that they will help us, but we need more pressure on Russia, not on me.

I'm not in the position where I have to think how to find compromise and which will be okay for all the sides around me, for different groups of people. I'm the president and I have to defend the constitution, have to defend the independence of my country and my people. That's what I'm thinking about only. When I make any steps, all my steps are based on such principles. And it's very clear for me. It's not so difficult for the person which understands very clearly what we have to do.