'Ready to talk any time,' Zelenskyy says, but rules out recognising occupied territory as Russian

Patrick Wintour

Diplomatic editor

Speaking in Munich before meeting a Trump delegation Zelenskyy also said: “I have told President Trump that I am ready to talk at any time – without conditions. We are prepared to discuss everything, from troop deployments to Nato.”

He said his only red line was his refusal to recognise occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian.

“Legally, we will never recognise these territories as ‘Russian’ or anything else – they are Ukrainian. That is a firm red line; it’s in our constitution. And only the people of Ukraine can decide this,” he said.

He also added security guarantees for Ukraine were as important if not more important than formal Nato membership.

He explained:

“Today, neither America nor President Trump is willing to discuss Nato. They believe Ukraine cannot be part of Nato. They see Ukraine’s Nato aspirations, as enshrined in our constitution, as a key reason for Russia’s occupation.”

Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine does not rule out the possibility of adjusting its approach to Nato membership.

He said: “Do we want to be in Nato? Yes. But is it just about the word ‘Nato’? No – it’s about security guarantees.”

In this case, he stressed, the main issue would be the specifics of those security guarantees, including the parameters of a peacekeeping mission and the size of Ukraine’s military.

If Ukraine does not join Nato, Zelenskyy estimates that its army would need to grow to 1.5 million troops. Putin effectively wants to see the Ukrainian army disarmed.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just been speaking to reporters at the Munich Security Conference, presenting a strong case for security guarantees that need to be given to Ukraine as part of any peace talks with Russia.

He appeared to at one point suggest that Putin’s Russia could attack Nato next year if it isn’t deterred by security guarantees, but heavily caveated that view saying “that is what I think, I don’t know.”

Here are the key quotes from his briefing:

On Trump’s comments about US-Russia talks in Munich:

I don’t know about it, but maybe somebody knows more than me.

On order of any peace talks:

As I said, the order [of talks] is United States, Europe, then Russia …

On his intelligence on Putin’s plans:

He started the sentence in Ukrainian saying that he is not sure if Putin would stop at Ukraine if there are no sound security guarantees, before switching to English:

They can go forward to Ukraine, or they will go to Poland or to the Baltics, and I think this is his idea. And I think that all I’ve got from intelligence … is that he’s preparing the war against Nato countries next year. That is what I think, I don’t know, I don’t have 100%, … but God bless, we will stop this crazy guy.

On meeting with JD Vance:

I think it’s important to speak and to have meeting. ... I’m very open for this meeting, and we have [our] agenda.

But I said to president Trump, with all respect to all his team, there are some decisions which can be only on the level of presidents because it’s about security of our country.

Hegseth is also asked about his expectations about US president Trump’s talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

He says that if Nato truly increases its capabilities and spending, this will deter Putin from being emboldened.

Is there trust there? No.

You don’t have to operate under a position of trust in order to negotiate a deal. But again, I’m the secretary of defence, it’s not my job to read the mind of Vladimir Putin.

President Trump will be the one at the table with Zelenskyy and Putin.

You don’t have to trust somebody in order to negotiate with them, but as Ronald Reagan said, if you don’t trust, you need to verify.

And so there will be a follow-up in ensuring that whatever peace is negotiated is a lasting and enduring peace.

(Hate to be the ‘uum, akshually’ guy, but that Reagan quote is originally a Russian proverb that the US president was taught and adopted as a way of getting to the Russians.)

That concludes their press conference.

Hegseth also gets asked about whether there are any plans to reduce the US involvement in Europe.

He repeats that “America is committed to the Nato alliance.”

“The American presence is robust, and it has been and that partnership is real and important. And the troops that we have here in Poland [are] an investment in that, a recognition of that,” he says.

In comments that will probably make lots of Polish leaders’ days much better, he says:

And frankly, the invitation we receive here, if anything, would make me want to welcome more troops to Poland.

… before he hastily adds…

That’s not a policy statement. That’s just how I feel. The welcome is warm.

But on a more serious note he adds:

Our message is so stark to our European allies: now is the time to invest, because you can’t make an assumption that America’s presence will last forever.

Hegseth gets asked about any potential deployment of US troops to Ukraine, and strikes a similar tone.

He repeats that he “does not believe, as a part of those negotiations, that US troops will be on the ground.”

But, again, caveats that heavily:

Negotiations happen. The president has latitude, and what happens is those negotiations is his prerogative.

Hegseth pushes back on suggestions he had to roll back his original comments on Ukraine made at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group earlier this week.

I stand by the comments that I made on that first day in the Ukraine contact group – and that’s for all the press out there who it’s difficult for them to understand that we stand by the statements we made … – about the status of US forces or Nato’s or Ukraine’s involvement in Nato and the unlikely nature of that.

But, but, but:

That said, I would never put constraints around what the President of the United States would be willing to negotiate with the sovereign leaders of both Russia and Ukraine.

So what those borders ultimately look like, sir, remains to be seen, and I think is part of the discussion that would be had between our president, Zelenskyy, Putin and likely Europe’s involvement in those discussions as well.

Hegseth continues:

Diplomacy is important. Talk is important. Negotiations are important, but ultimately … bullets and tanks and helicopters and hard power still matters.

Poland understands that, and so do we. They’re exceeding Nato burden sharing commitments, and we’re looking for even more ways to partner.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth opens with praises for Poland:

Our friendship, our bond is ironclad, and we came here specifically to reinforce that.

We says he deliberately picked Poland for his first bilateral meeting in Europe to acknowledge Warsaw’s spending on defence as he calls Poland “the model ally.”

I do want to emphasise that it’s quite intentional that our first European bilateral is right here in Poland. The symbol, the symbolism, is not lost. In fact, it is intentional.

We see Poland as the model ally on the continent, willing to invest not just in their defence, but in our shared defence and the defence of the continent.

US defence secretary Hegseth speaks in Warsaw

Jakub Krupa

And we’re quickly crossing to Warsaw, Poland, where US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has met with Polish defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, and they’re now speaking at a press conference together.

I’ll bring you the key lines here.

• At least 36 people have been injured in a suspected car ramming attack in Munich yesterday, with some with critical and severe injuries, police said at a press briefing this morning.

• A 24-year-old Afghan man remains in custody as the main suspect in the attack. Despite initial reports from officials, he was in Germany legally, and with no previous convictions. He remains under arrest.

• Police says the suspect has shown potential Islamist motivation behind the attack, but he has no known links to terrorist groups.

• Officers are looking into his contacts and online communications to understand more about his potential motivation.

• There are no known links between the attack and the Munich Security Conference.

Munich police has just confirmed that the number of injured in yesterday’s suspected car ramming attack has gone up to 36.

There are no known links between the attack and today’s Munich Security Conference.

Munich police is now offering updates on yesterday’s suspected car ramming attack.

I will bring you the key news lines soon.

Town-hall election debate in Germany - catch up

Deborah Cole

Berlin correspondent

The four main German candidates clashed at a town-hall-style debate on public television last night, and delved into the bread-and-butter issues like energy costs and rising rents that a lot of viewers said was missing from Sunday’s duel between conservative frontrunner Friedrich Merz and the chancellor, Olaf Scholz.

The unique format, in which each candidate had 30 minutes on stage responding to audience questions followed by a brief overlap with the next participant, led to a rare joint appearance on stage between Merz and the far-right AfD’s Alice Weidel.

The two shared a cordial handshake before it got scrappy, with Merz asked if he would consider a coalition with her party. Merz was clear, telling Weidel pointedly: “We made a decision: not with you.” Merz said that with its opposition to “the EU, Nato and the euro”, the AfD ran against “everything my party has stood for”.

Weidel responded by repeatedly taunting Merz that by maintaining the “firewall” against the AfD, he was opening the door to a coalition between his CDU/CSU bloc and the Greens, the bogeymen of the right wing and the far right. “Come on, say it – tell them,” she needled. Merz said he would await the outcome of the 23 February election, but voiced a preference for an alliance with the Social Democrats instead.

News website Spiegel found Merz cut the most statesman-like and likeable figure, compared to the wonkish performances turned in by Scholz and Greens candidate Robert Habeck. “Friedrich Merz of all people, who often comes off as arrogant on television, did well. But this TV format suited him -- he seemed composed and genuinely interested in people.”

Weidel began her half hour with tough comments about Thursday’s car ramming in Munich which injured 30 people, some of them severely. Referring to the suspect, an Afghan asylum seeker, she asserted: “The man would never have made it into the country under an AfD-led government.”

But an apparent attempt to soften her image later faltered when the head of an elder care home in the audience told her the AfD’s highly restrictive immigration policy would create catastrophic labour shortages in his sector. After she accused him of failing to read her party’s manifesto, the man shot back: “You should read your party manifesto.” Weidel then accused him of being a plant to sabotage her appearance. “I have the impression that you learned that (the AfD criticism) by heart.” Several members of the audience jeered at Weidel in response.

Nine days to go until election day.