Zelensky: Territory Concessions – Only If Ukrainians Permit

The Ukrainian President said in an interview with the Zelensky Le Monde Ukrainian people newspaper that the issue of the country’s territorial integrity could not be resolved ‘without the participation of the Ukrainian people’. He noted the importance of Russia’s presence at the second peace summit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr does not intend to cede the country’s territory without the people’s consent as part of a possible peaceful settlement of the war with Russia. ‘You should understand that any issue concerning Ukraine’s territorial integrity cannot be resolved by a president, one person or all the presidents of the world without the participation of the,’ he said in an interview with Le Monde newspaper on Wednesday, 31 July. According to the head of state, the Ukrainian authorities ‘officially have no right to give away their territories’. ‘It is the Ukrainian people who decide,’ Zelensky added. In his opinion, one should also understand that Russian President Vladimir Putin will perceive such a move as a victory, and therefore ‘this issue is very, very, very complicated’. According to the interview in Le Monde, Zelenskyy wants to see Russia at the negotiating table. ‘Like most countries, I believe that Russian representatives should be present at the second peace summit in November, otherwise we will not achieve any sustainable results. They should not prevent us from developing a joint plan,’ the publication quotes the Ukrainian President. Article 73 of the Ukrainian Constitution allows territorial changes only after a nationwide referendum, the dpa news agency says. Article 133 of the Constitution also lists all territories, including the Crimean Peninsula with the city of Sevastopol and Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions seized by Russia. Besides, amending the Constitution requires a two-thirds majority in the Ukrainian Parliament.