Zaluzhny was summoned to a meeting with Zelenskyy, where he was dissuaded from pursuing presidential ambitions — UP
During a meeting with Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the prospects for holding presidential elections this fall.
The conversation took place in Kyiv amid political changes in London, where British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was preparing to resign.
According to the publication “Ukrainska Pravda,” the first part of the meeting focused on the strategic partnership with the UK and the implications of Starmer’s resignation for relations between the two countries.
The president then moved on to discuss the domestic political issue of holding the elections.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that positive developments on the front lines and the consolidation of society are creating a window of opportunity for the electoral process.
However, the president stressed that the main task is to avoid internal division, which could arise due to competition between him and Valeriy Zaluzhny.
“Zelenskyy said that the situation on the front lines has been developing positively lately, society remains sufficiently united, and therefore a window of opportunity has opened for holding elections. However, the main task is to hold them in such a way that the country does not experience a new internal rift; therefore, the president continued, we must avoid the risks that a confrontation between Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyy would entail,” the source reported.
When the president asked a direct question about participating in the elections, Valeriy Zaluzhny replied in the affirmative: “Yes. I will.”
After that, the conversation took a different turn, and proposals regarding the general’s future career—including the position of head of government—became irrelevant.
For his part, the general explained that he had never sought a political career, but felt a sense of responsibility toward the people who had placed their hopes in him. He emphasized that he could not betray the trust of the citizens.
During his stay in Kyiv, Valerii Zaluzhnyi also met with National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and “Servant of the People” faction leader Davyd Arakhamia.
They tried to convince the general to withdraw from the election, citing the danger of a contentious campaign and risks to the state.
“They repeated virtually the same arguments: a possible social divide, the danger of an overly contentious campaign, and risks to the state. Zaluzhny’s response remained unchanged as well. After that, even the most experienced negotiators at Bankova ran out of arguments. But as they were leaving, they still asked Zaluzhny: ‘Brother, please think it over one more time,’” the article states.
This is reported in an article by UP.
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