Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared on Sunday that he would be willing to resign as the leader of his nation if it meant achieving peace.
Zelensky shared his thoughts while speaking at a government forum on the day before the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, CNN reported.
“If to achieve peace, you really need me to give up my post, I’m ready,” Zelensky said.
However, to resign, Zelensky said that a NATO membership would need to be included in the deal, telling a journalist he could “trade” his presidency for NATO.
The remarks from Zelensky come just days after Trump slammed him for doing a “terrible job” while also saying he was a “dictator without elections.”
Ukraine has not held an election as its law prevents elections during times of martial law, which the country is.
On Saturday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump is confident he can strike a deal between Russia and Ukraine sometime soon, saying the war could be over as soon as this week. Leavitt shared her thoughts with reporters while at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
“The president, his team are very much focused on continuing negotiations with both sides of this war to end the conflict, and the president is very confident we can get it done this week,” Leavitt said.
Trump has also claimed that Ukrainian support for Zelensky has fallen to 4% since the war began, but the latest polls showed that he still held the majority support in the country.
Still, when it comes to peace negotiations, Trump said last week that Zelensky had “no cards” left to play, saying he should not participate in conversations with international leaders working to find peace.
Zelensky has shared his own criticism of Trump, saying last week that he was living in a “web of disinformation.”
When it comes to his push to join NATO, something Russia continues to be opposed to, others suggest that it may not be possible, including U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” Hegseth said before a U.S.-led meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels nearly two weeks ago.