'Ending war would leave Putin with nothing': Zelensky urges US to use 'strength of America' to convince Russia

Ukrainian President Zelensky on Friday (March 14) said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not end this war on his own, urging US President Donald Trump to use the "strength of America" to make it happen.

As Putin put forward some conditions for the US-proposed ceasefire, Zelensky said that this clearly shows he does not want any ceasefire.

"He needs war – this has always been obvious, and it is obvious now," he said in his social media post.

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He further claimed that the Russian president is lying about the real situation on the battlefield, the casualties, and the true state of his economy, "which has been damaged by his foolish imperial ambitions, and he is doing everything possible to ensure that diplomacy fails."

"Putin will not end the war on his own. But the strength of America is enough to make it happen," he said.

And we believe it is our partners’ responsibility to ensure that Russia is ready to end the war – not to look for reasons why it should continue for more weeks, months, or years, but to end it. Putin will not end the war on his own. But the strength of America is enough to make…

Zelensky said that "Putin cannot exit this war because that would leave him with nothing," adding that he is doing everything he can to "sabotage diplomacy" by setting extremely difficult and unacceptable conditions right from the start even before a ceasefire.

He said that Putin "will drag everyone into endless discussions...wasting days, weeks, and months on meaningless talks while his guns continue to kill people."

Zelensky urged the US to influence Russia and to take strong steps that can help.

"Pressure must be applied to the one who does not want to stop the war. Pressure must be put on Russia. Only decisive actions can end this war, which has already lasted for years," he stressed.

"Strong steps are needed. Strong pressure must be applied to the only one who wants to continue this war. This is what ‘peace through strength’ means," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)