Approving of neutral status is possible after the referendum, but it can take place only after the withdrawal of russian troops from Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated this in an interview with russian journalists.
He said the peace process should begin with his meeting with Putin.
"We meet, we negotiate, we reach the agreement, that's enough; our agreement with our signatures, seals, can be signed with blood as well, is enough. That is enough to start withdrawing troops, - said the President. - The troops must be withdrawn, guarantees will be signed, and that is it. It will continue working. Then ratification in the Parliament, in a couple of months a referendum, and then changes to the Constitution."
Volodymyr Zelenskyy explained that a referendum on the neutral status of the state is needed, as it would take at least a year for the relevant amendments to the Constitution to be adopted in Parliament.
Also, in his opinion, the representatives of the countries that can provide Ukraine with security guarantees in case of neutral status will not sign anything as long as russian troops are present on the territory of Ukraine.
"Johnson, Biden, Duda, Erdogan? Who will sit down to discuss anything if there are military troops around? Who will sign anything? Nothing will be done; it is impossible - he told. - Therefore, we should not expect changes in the legislation. So, when the russian side said, "Let's change the law first, then we will remove the tanks," we look at them as .... as people who do not have a deep understanding of the political process in terms of the legislation."
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that it is necessary to minimize the number of victims and reduce the duration of this war.
"I understand that it is impossible to force Russia to liberate the territory completely; it will lead to the Third World War," he said. - That's why I say: this is a compromise. Go back to where it all started, and there we will try to solve the issue of Donbas, a challenging issue of Donbas. "