Zelenski from Estonia says "pauses" in conflict would help Russia
Volodimir Zelenski, Ukraine's president, said Thursday in Tallinn, Estonia, on the second day of his tour of the Baltic states, that any "pause" in Ukraine's defence against Russian encroachment would only help Moscow rearm and allow it to "crush" Ukraine.
"If the Russian Federation has two or three more years, it will crush us. We would not take this risk (...) There will be no pause for Russia's benefit," he told a joint press conference with his Estonian counterpart Alar Karis.
"A pause on the battlefield, on the territory of Ukraine, is not a pause in the war. It does not mean that the war is over. And it does not lead to a political dialogue with the Russian Federation or anyone else," he insisted.
Baltic tour
The visit by Zelenski, who is also due to visit Latvia on Thursday, follows several waves of heavy Russian bombardment of Ukraine since late December.
Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, former Soviet republics now members of NATO and the European Union, are strong supporters of Kiev in the face of Russia's invasion.
The Ukrainian president also reiterated that NATO membership would be the best guarantee of security for his country and the region.
"NATO membership would be the best security guarantee for Ukraine that Russian aggression will not be repeated. It would also be the best security guarantee for the Baltic countries, for Poland, and the possibility of a different future for Belarus," he said.
The Estonian president, for his part, assured Estonia's unfailing support for Ukraine.
"In this brutal war, on this great battlefield, we are all allies fighting for freedom," Karis said, believing that "the solution, which is to push back the aggressor, requires a joint effort of all democratic countries".
"All Russia's chances in this war rest on the hope that the united front of the allies will break and the Ukrainians will be left alone," he added.
"I assure you that we will do everything possible to ensure that this does not happen. The war must end with the victory of Ukraine," he stressed.
