Photo: Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would participate in a presidential election if it were held while the country was still under martial law, NBC News reported.
Asked by an American journalist how he would decide if a new presidential election took place during the war with Russia, Zelenskyy said he would run because he felt responsible for the country’s fate while Russian aggression continued.
“If this happens during the war, of course, it is my responsibility. Because I must defend my country from the beginning to the end of this war,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian president has repeatedly stated that he is ready to hold elections if Russian President Vladimir Putin agrees to his demand for a complete ceasefire lasting two months.
“Tell Putin: give us two months of a full ceasefire, and we will hold elections. And, of course, we will be ready to accept any choice made by our people — the Ukrainian people,” Zelenskyy said.
Moscow immediately rejected the demand. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that Zelenskyy wanted the 60-day ceasefire not to hold elections but to regroup, recover and continue the war.
