Zelensky says Ukraine open to energy ceasefire with Russia

[0:00] Welcome back, you're with BBC News. Now, another development when it comes to the impact, [0:05] the fallout of this ongoing conflict in Iran. President Zelensky of Ukraine says that Ukraine [0:11] would be open to an energy ceasefire with Russia in a bid to help ease the Iran war oil crisis. [0:18] Speaking after his recent visit to the Gulf states, he said that Ukraine's allies have [0:23] urged him to scale back attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure amid this ongoing global [0:30] fuel crisis. But he has insisted, Zelensky has insisted, that the attacks would only end [0:35] if Russia stops targeting Ukraine's energy system. So a lot to unpack. Let's cross over to Kiev [0:42] because BBC Monitoring's chief analyst Vitaly Shevchenko joins us live now. So Vitaly, we're [0:48] not talking about a ceasefire when it comes to Russia's full-scale invasion, [0:53] of Ukraine now in its fifth year. But just talk us through what is your understanding of what [0:57] Zelensky's saying? Well, Kaishu, as you will know, President Zelensky all this time, the past couple [1:06] of years in fact, he's been saying that Ukraine is all for a ceasefire. Now it's up to Russia to [1:13] stop attacking Ukraine and then the fire will cease. So that is not something that he has not [1:22] said before. The thing that attracts me the most is the fact that Ukraine is not a ceasefire. [1:25] The thing that attracts me the most is the fact that Ukraine is not a ceasefire. The thing that [1:25] attracted me in his remarks to journalists today was that countries which he called Ukraine's [1:32] partners or some of Ukraine's partners has asked him to reduce Ukraine's attacks on Russia's [1:40] energy infrastructure. Because clearly as fuel prices are surging across the globe, this causes [1:48] enormous concern everywhere. It's not immediately clear which countries he meant specifically [1:55] but recently the United States has eased some of the sanctions imposed on Russian oil because of the [2:06] war in Iran. And Vladimir Zelensky said, yeah, we can seize our attacks on Russia but they need to [2:13] stop attacking us first. And this is just one example of how the war in Iran affects the war [2:20] in Ukraine, how these two wars are interconnected. Ukraine is getting more and more involved in the [2:26] war, much less attention. Of course, Ukraine potentially is facing shortages of fuel. And I was [2:35] in a Zoom call with President Zelenskyi on Saturday and I asked them about how probable this shortage [2:43] is. And he said, well, Ukraine's army has enough diesel, but for now. And he tried to secure more [2:52] supplies of fuel during his tour of the Gulf. [2:56] So this war in Iran, it benefits Russia for now. [3:00] It's making more money out of its oil, but also it opens some possibilities for Ukraine, [3:07] such as offering drones, drone technology and drone expertise to countries in the Gulf. [3:15] Also, the Ukrainian president said that Ukraine actually has experience in unblocking trade routes in the sea. [3:24] A couple of years ago, when Russia tried to stop Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea, [3:32] Ukraine successfully unblocked that trade route. [3:35] So Volodymyr Zelensky said, well, this is the kind of expertise that will be useful, [3:41] potentially in unblocking the Strait of Hormuz as well. [3:45] Vitaly, briefly, if you would, when it comes to the trip that Volodymyr Zelensky made to the Gulf states, [3:52] it was fascinating to hear you say that. [3:54] The. [3:54] Partners, the allies are now putting pressure on Zelensky to stop targeting Russian oil energy infrastructure. [4:03] But we know that Zelensky was trying to make new partners, new allies with Gulf states by giving, [4:09] by sharing the expertise that they have. [4:12] But he wanted caveats. [4:13] He wanted security guarantees. [4:15] Did we know whether he got any of that? [4:20] Not really. [4:20] He spoke of, and I quote, historic agreements reached with the Gulf. [4:26] He said, well, no, we can't disclose any details. [4:28] He only spoke about drones, help in protecting Ukraine against Russian missiles and securing more fuel supplies from the Gulf. [4:44] Vitaly, as always, thanks so, so much for bringing us up to date. [4:47] Vitaly Shevchenko there joining us live from Kiev, and it just goes to show just how interlinked the global situation is. [4:55] And we're seeing the repercussions. [4:56] We're seeing the repercussions of this ongoing conflict.