President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an interview with Sky News, stated that the fastest way to achieve a cessation of hostilities could be fixing the current line of contact with a subsequent transition to a diplomatic settlement of the war, but emphasized that this is not about freezing the conflict without guarantees, but about creating conditions that would make the resumption of hostilities impossible.
According to Zelenskyy, the idea is to achieve a ceasefire and maintain the current positions of the parties with a subsequent transition to negotiations. He noted that such an option could allow for a quicker stop to the hostilities and save the lives of servicemen and civilians.
Commenting on a possible ceasefire scenario and the issue of fixing the line of contact, Zelenskyy said: "Yes, this is the fastest way. Of course, I want to freeze, not just freeze the conflict… We want to stop it in such a way that the war will not come back… So the idea is not just to freeze, but to find the quickest way to freeze the situation… to stay where we stay."
At the same time, he emphasized that this is not about "giving away" territories, but about fixing the current situation in order to save the lives of citizens and create conditions for further negotiations.
In addition, the president stressed that the ceasefire must be full and controlled, with the involvement of international partners and monitoring missions, in particular with the participation of the US and European countries, to avoid violations by Russia.
He emphasized that after achieving a regime of silence, a diplomatic process aimed at a complete end to the war, and not just a temporary stoppage of hostilities, must begin: "We can have a ceasefire… and then – sit down and try diplomatically to find a way to stop the war."
