Zelenskyy on possible negotiations with Putin after Ukrainian army approaching Crimea: Rhetoric that makes sense

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the rhetorical statements that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be forced to seek dialogue when Ukrainian troops are on the administrative border with the occupied Crimea, as the ones that "make sense".

Source: Zelenskyy, in an interview with ABC News, commenting on the Washington Post's report on the secret visit of CIA Director William Burns to Ukraine in June

Details: ABC News notes that Zelenskyy did not deny the Washington Post's report that during Burns' recent visit to Kyiv, Ukrainian officials told him that the purpose of the counteroffensive was to approach the administrative border with Crimea, and then force Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate.

Asked if this was "possible", Zelenskyy said: "Well, it is absolutely clear rhetoric that makes sense; at that moment when Ukraine will reach the administrative border with a temporarily occupied Ukrainian peninsula, Crimea, it's very likely that Putin will be forced to seek dialogue with the civilised world, unlike how it was before the full-scale invasion, because he will be weakened".

The President also said that he feels no "pressure at all" from Western allies to make the Ukrainian counteroffensive happen faster.

"Today, the initiative is on our side. We are advancing, albeit not as fast [as we would like]. But we are advancing," he said.

Background: The Washington Post, citing sources in late June, reported that during a secret visit to Ukraine by CIA Director William Burns earlier that month, Ukrainian authorities revealed their strategy to him – to regain Russian-occupied territories and begin ceasefire talks with Moscow by the end of the year.

According to sources, in private conversations, military planners in Kyiv assured Burns that their goal was to reclaim a significant territory before the autumn; move artillery and missile systems to the border with Crimea controlled by Russia; move deeper into Ukraine's east, and then start negotiations with Moscow.

After that, Zelenskyy emphasised that Ukraine would be ready for a diplomatic settlement of the war only when it reached the borders of 1991, and he himself would not consider "peace" without Crimea a "victory".

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