Zelensky claims he would resign if it means peace or NATO membership for Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced he would step down from the top job on specific conditions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday he will step down if his country is allowed into NATO — or his departure would result in a peace deal with Russia.

Zelensky, a former comedian who has served as the war-torn country’s president since 2019, made the unexpected pledge at a news conference in response to a reporter’s question, The NY Post reports.

The 47-year-old leader, asked about his willingness to resign — as US President Donald Trump puts pressure on him to at least hold new elections — responded, “Yes, I am happy, if it is for the peace of Ukraine.”

Mr Zelensky insisted it was never his “dream” to remain president for another five-year term.

“If you need me to leave this chair, I am ready to do that, and I also can exchange it for NATO membership for Ukraine,” he told reporters.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a joint press conference on the sidelines of the "Ukraine. Year 2025" forum in Kyiv on February 23, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Picture: AFP.

Mr Zelensky has been a regular fixture on the world stage since Russia’s full-scale invasion of his country began in 2022, including with numerous trips to Washington, DC.

The US has provided nearly $66 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the start of the war, funds Mr Trump has made overtures about clawing back through deals to mine the country’s rich natural resources.

Mr Zelensky enjoyed close ties with former US President Joe Biden, but his relationship with Mr Trump has been far more contentious, with the two leaders repeatedly trading public barbs.

Last week, Mr Trump slammed Mr Zelensky as a “dictator,” just one day after an American delegation attended a meeting with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.

“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Trump fumed on Truth Social on Wednesday.

“In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump Administration, can do.”

Mr Zelensky said at Sunday’s press conference that elections in Ukraine as the war continues would be untenable.

Eight million Ukrainians have been displaced due to the fighting, and servicemembers are unable to vote while engaged, Mr Zelensky noted. He also said occupied territories in the region would be unable to ensure free and fair elections because of Russian control.

“We understand all of those challenges. Unfortunately, our partners are being told disinformation,” he said of the lack of elections.

“I don’t want to believe that President Trump thinks like that by himself,” Mr Zelensky said, hinting that Putin allies may be influencing Mr Trump or members of his circle.

Late last week, Mr Trump walked back erroneous claims he made that Ukraine “started” the war with Russia but maintains that Mr Putin “could have been talked out of” invading the country’s neighbour to the west.

“Russia attacked, but they shouldn’t have let them attack, because they wouldn’t have attacked if you had people that knew what they were doing,” the president said.

“Joe Biden is a very dumb man … He had no idea what he was doing and everything he said was wrong.

“And I will tell you, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin could have been talked out of that so easy, but they didn’t know how to talk.”

Mr Zelensky said Sunday that Mr Trump should meet with him before meeting with Mr Putin — who seeks control over the entire Ukrainian land mass.

The Trump administration has been in the process of trying to strike a deal with Ukraine for access to hundreds of billions of dollars in mineral rights there to help pay for US military aid.

Retired Gen. Keith Kellogg — one of a handful of Trump officials who remains supportive of Zelensky — visited Ukraine recently to try to iron out the details of the agreement.

But Kellogg returned from Kyiv after meeting with Mr Zelensky, who he praised publicly as “courageous,” without confirming whether a deal had been secured.

Shortly after, Mr Trump announced at the White House that the US and Ukraine were “signing an agreement, hopefully in the next fairly short period of time.”

A rep for the Ukrainian president’s office insisted to The Post, “Any deal that can be made has to be mutually beneficial,” despite high-ranking government officials viewing such an agreement as a shakedown.

This article originally appeared in The NY Post and was reproduced with permission.