Zelensky tells CNN he is 'ready to negotiate' with Putin 2:01
(CNN)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that he is "ready for negotiations" with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but warned that if they fail, "it would mean this is a third world war."
“I am ready to negotiate with him.
I have been for the last two years.
And I think without negotiations we cannot end this war," he told CNN's Fareed Zakaria.
“I think we have to use any format, any opportunity to have a chance to negotiate, a chance to talk with Putin.
But if these attempts fail, that would mean this is a third world war,” he added.
Russian war in Ukraine: breaking news and invasion news
Zelensky has urged more negotiations in recent days as the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches its fourth week.
In a video message posted on Saturday, he called for talks "without delay" and warned that Russia's losses would otherwise be "enormous."
“We have always insisted on negotiation.
We have always offered dialogue, offered solutions for peace,” she said.
"And I want everyone to listen to me now, especially in Moscow. It's time to meet. It's time to talk. It's time to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine."
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Zelensky has previously said that his priorities in the talks are clear: "The end of the war, security guarantees, sovereignty, restoration of territorial integrity, real guarantees for our country, real protection for our country."
Zelensky also told Zakaria on Sunday that if Ukraine "were a member of NATO, it would not have started a war."
"I would like to receive security guarantees for my country, for my people. If NATO members are ready to see us in the alliance, let them do so immediately. Because people are dying every day," he said, adding that he was grateful. for the help NATO has provided since the invasion began.
Still, last week Zelensky dropped his clearest hint yet that he doesn't expect his country to join NATO anytime soon, something that has been a goal of Ukraine.
NATO, a security alliance currently made up of 30 North American and European nations, was created in 1949 in response to the start of the Cold War.
Its original purpose was to protect the West from the threat posed by the Soviet Union.
Since the end of the Cold War, several former Soviet satellite states and three former Soviet republics have joined NATO, meaning Russia now shares a land border with the world's largest military alliance.
This story has been updated with additional reactions and background.
Vladimir Putin Volodymyr Zelensky