A political instead of a military solution is possible on Crimea. The President of Ukraine said so, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a television interview filmed by various media in the country. “When we are at the administrative borders of Crimea, I think it is possible to politically force the demilitarization of Russia on the territory of the peninsula”, said Zelensky, who excludes the intention of going beyond Russian borders with the conflict: “It would be a big risk, we would come certainly left alone, and the fight to reconquer our territories was sustained in a determined manner thanks to relations with the allies”.
Towards the vote?
President Volodymyr Zelensky he stated that he would like to hold presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine in 2024, stressing however that this requires legislative changes, funds from partners and international observers also at the forefront.
Interviewed yesterday by the journalist Natalia Moseichuk on the 1+1 TV channel, reports Ukrainska Pravada, Zelensky commented on the position of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham according to which elections in Ukraine should be held as early as next year despite the war. The Ukrainian president said he had spoken to Graham personally. “The logic is that if democracy is defended, even in times of war one must think of this defense – said Zelensky -. Elections are one of the defenses. But it is not for nothing that elections are prohibited by law during war: it is very difficult to hold them – he added -. My answer is very simple and Lindsey and I formulated it very quickly: he was very happy with it».
Elections are therefore possible “if our parliamentarians are ready, because we need changes to the legislation, to the electoral code, to do it quickly – he underlined -. I said (to Graham, ed): ‘If you are ready to give me five billion, because I can’t just take five billion from the budget, I think this is the sum needed to hold elections in normal times, and in wartime I don’t know what is this amount, if the United States of America together with Europe will give us financial support’”, then Ukraine will hold elections.
“I’m sorry, I’m not asking for anything. I have no intention of organizing an election on credit. Nor will I take gun money to use in elections. This is foreseen by the law – he explained -. But if you give me this financial support and if the parliamentarians realize that it is necessary to do so, then let us change the legislation quickly… And above all, let us take risks together. As well as? Observers must be in the trenches. I told him: ‘You and I must send observers to the front line so that we have legitimate elections for us and for the whole world. And that is absolutely right.”