Zelenskiy says he is willing to give up presidency if it means peace in Ukraine

KYIV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb 23 – the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion – that he was ready to quit as Ukraine’s president if it meant Kyiv would be admitted to the Nato military alliance.

Mr Zelensky, who has faced fierce criticism from the new US administration, also said he wanted to meet US President Donald Trump before Mr Trump meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Mr Zelensky has been calling for Ukraine to be given Nato membership as part of any deal to end the war, but the Washington-led alliance has been reluctant to make a pledge.

“If there is peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to leave my post, I am ready” Mr Zelensky told a Kyiv news conference. “I can exchange it for Nato.”

Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump have been engaged in a war of words since US and Russian officials met last week in Saudi Arabia for their first high-level talks in three years.

The move undermined the West’s policy of isolating the Kremlin and infuriated Ukrainian and European leaders excluded from the meeting.

In recent days, Mr Trump has branded Mr Zelensky a “dictator”, falsely claimed Ukraine “started” the war and said, contrary to independent opinion polls, that the Ukrainian leader was unpopular at home.

Mr Zelensky said he was not “offended” by Mr Trump’s comments and was ready to test his popularity in an election once martial law ends in Ukraine.

“One would be offended by the word ‘dictator’, if he was a dictator,” Mr Zelensky told the press conference.