At a subsequent press conference, he said that Ukrainian territory was one of the main sticking points in negotiations.
“Russia is insisting that we give up territories, but we don’t want to cede anything,” Zelenskyy said.
“There are difficult problems concerning the territories and so far there has been no compromise,” he said, adding that Kyiv had no legal or moral right to give up its land.
He also said: “The key is to know what our partners will be ready to do in the event of new aggression by Russia. At the moment, we have not received any answer to this question.”
Hours later, in Brussels, Zelenskyy said on X he had “a good and productive meeting” with Nato chief Mark Rutte, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“Our positions have been aligned on all issues. We are acting in a coordinated and constructive manner,” Zelenskyy said.
Rutte also called it a “good” discussion and reiterated the support for a “just and lasting peace for Ukraine”, while von der Leyen, also on X, said the EU was “ironclad” in its backing for Kyiv.
“Ukraine’s sovereignty must be respected. Ukraine’s security must be guaranteed, in the long term, as a first line of defence for our Union. These priorities were at the centre of our discussions with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte,” von der Leyen said.
France’s Macron wrote on X after the London meeting that “we are preparing robust security guarantees and measures for Ukraine’s reconstruction”.
Macron said the “main issue” was finding “convergence” between the European and Ukrainian position and that of the United States.
Before the London talks, German leader Merz said he was “sceptical about some of the details which we are seeing in the documents coming from the US side, but we have to talk about it”.
And Britain’s Starmer said he would not be pushing Zelenskyy to accept the deal spearheaded by Trump’s administration – the initial version of which was criticised by Ukraine’s allies as overly favourable to Russia.
‘Disappointed’
On Saturday, Zelenskyy said he had joined a call with his negotiators in the Miami negotiations for a “very substantive and constructive” conversation with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
But Trump criticised his Ukrainian counterpart on Sunday, telling reporters: “I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago.”
Witkoff and Kushner had met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin last week, with Moscow rejecting parts of the US proposal.
Before Monday’s talks, Macron slammed what he called Russia’s “escalatory path”.
“We must continue to exert pressure on Russia to compel it to choose peace,” he wrote on X.
Hot and cold
Washington’s initial plan to bring an end to the conflict involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not been able to win on the battlefield in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join Nato.
But the nature of the security guarantees that Ukraine could get to fend off any future Russian invasion has so far been shrouded in uncertainty, beyond an initial plan saying that jets to defend Kyiv could be based in Poland.
Trump has blown hot and cold on Ukraine since returning to office in January, initially chastising Zelenskyy for not being grateful for US support.
But he has also grown frustrated that his efforts to persuade Putin to end the war, including a summit in Alaska, have failed to produce results, and he recently slapped sanctions on Russian oil firms.
- Agence France-Presse
