Kellogg should come to Ukraine and ask people how they feel about elections - Zelenskyy
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that the issue of elections during the war in Ukraine is very complicated.
The head of state said this in an interview with The Guardian, Censor.NET reports.
Zelenskyy was asked whether he was surprised when Keith Kellogg stated the importance of holding elections in Ukraine.
"About the elections... There were no surprises for me here, neither from Americans nor from Europeans. Indeed, I have seen and heard many different things messages. They all change their minds when they come to Ukraine. That's why I don't even react to it. I think it is very important that Kellogg comes to Ukraine. Then he will understand the people, understand all the circumstances of what is happening. He will see the attitude of Ukrainians towards the elections," he said.
According to Zelenskyy, this is not just a matter of legislation or the Constitution.
"I think he should ask people himself, anybody: civilians, at the front, everywhere. He will hear that people don't understand how this can be done during the war. It is very difficult. This is a matter of security and justice for the military. It is important that they have the opportunity to vote. It is very difficult with people who are in the temporarily occupied territories. There are different people, but all these cities and towns that we have unfortunately lost so far. Not giving them the opportunity to vote is a signal that we are left without them. Melitopol, Berdiansk, Mariupol, our other cities. How will they vote? How can they vote when they are under occupation? These are very complicated things.
We need to solve the issue of 8 million people who are abroad. I'm not saying that we will solve all the issues or that there will be elections only when we solve everything in 20 years, no. But we cannot fail to solve anything and shout loudly: "We want elections!". Let's be honest, today our people perceive this as a shock and do not understand why we are being offered this," the president explained.
The issue of elections, he noted, should be decided by Ukrainians, not someone abroad.
Kellogg's statement on elections in Ukraine
Earlier, Keith Kellogg said that the United States wants Ukraine to hold presidential and parliamentary elections after a possible ceasefire agreement is concluded.
Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, said that the United States had not discussed with the Ukrainian side the need to hold elections in the country by the end of 2025.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that there can be no elections in Ukraine during martial law. To do this, the constitution and legislation must be changed.
US President Donald Trump's special representative for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, called it a sign of a healthy democracy that elections can be held in a country even during a war. However, Kyiv should not hold them right now.
