Zelensky says Putin has one year to strike deal to end war in Donbas – interview with The Guardian

16:52, 07.03.2020 1 min read

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes he can negotiate a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Donbas, but has threatened to walk away from talks if there is no progress with his Russian counterpart during a year after the December summit in the Normandy format.

"Time is ticking. The government can spend one year on the entire agreement. Then it should be implemented. Any longer is prohibited," he said in an interview with The Guardian edition.

"I won't give my five years, which were given to me by the Ukrainian people, to work on Minsk for five years. I won't do it," he said, adding there were "two or three plans" of what to do after walking away from talks, but declining to elaborate.