The question at the press conference in Kyiv – whether Zelenskyj could consider "giving up" the presidency for peace – is actually strange, says Jakob Hedenskog, analyst at the Centre for East European Studies at the Foreign Policy Institute.
The war is not about Zelenskyj being president or not. It's not Zelenskyj who has stood in the way of a Nato membership.
"Hard to change track"
Zelenskyj has put his cards on the table that US President Donald Trump as a strong leader will solve the question of peace, and it's hard to change track now, says Jakob Hedenskog.
It's a rhetorically interesting move, but Biden has already said that a Nato membership for Ukraine is not currently an option, and Trump has basically just taken it a step further.
Regarding the mineral resources that Zelenskyj is now saying he is willing to discuss with the US, Jakob Hedenskog believes that Ukraine's hope may be that they will function as a security guarantee.
If the US is engaged and practically present in the country for extraction, that presence could function as a security guarantee and constitute a kind of assurance that Russia will refrain from attacking further, says Jakob Hedenskog.
More is required
However, Hedenskog believes that hope is naive, and he thinks that something significantly more robust would be required.
American troops on the ground or even better a Nato membership, but when none of that is in place, I'm afraid that Russia and the US will in practice make deals over Ukraine politically and economically.
Russia gets political control over Ukraine's development, limiting Ukraine's sovereignty and in practice keeping occupied territory. The Americans get income from extracting natural resources, says Jakob Hedenskog.
