Zelensky Open To Freezing Front Lines To End Conflict

WASHINGTON, Oct 22 (Bernama-dpa) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is prepared to freeze the current front lines in a bid to end the conflict, reported German Press Agency (dpa).

“Yes, right now, we have to freeze,” he said in an interview with United States (US) broadcaster Fox News on Wednesday. “I think this is [a] real way to end this conflict.”

He was responding to a question about whether he would “accept a peace deal that freezes everything the way it is right now, where you still keep 75 per cent or more of your country, regardless of how it started”.

“Freeze and stop. And, of course, this is the minimum of what we need from Russia today. Then, of course, we will go to [the] president and to Europeans, and we’ll ask [for] security guarantees,” he said.

Zelensky’s position is not new. Kyiv has repeatedly proposed halting hostilities along the current front lines.

Moscow has rejected such proposals in the past, arguing that a ceasefire would give Ukraine time to rearm.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained that his troops are advancing, a view that US President Donald Trump has tended to share.

However, Ukrainian forces have halted Russian advances in some areas in recent months and have even pushed Russian troops back in certain sectors.

On Wednesday, US envoy Steve Witkoff presented Putin with new proposals to end the conflict during a meeting in St. Petersburg.

Witkoff had met Zelensky and European leaders in Oslo before travelling to Russia, and was expected to return to Oslo for further consultations.

Following the meeting, Moscow said it was ready in principle to resume trilateral talks involving Russia, the US and Ukraine next month.

-- BERNAMA-dpa