OREANDA-NEWS. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has put forward conditions to Russia and Europe, under which Kiev will agree to the launch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. He announced this in an interview with Western journalists published on the website of the President's Office.

Zelenskiy complained that if the pipeline goes into operation, Russia could force Ukraine into direct dialogue with the self-proclaimed republics of Donbass. In his opinion, Moscow is "outplaying everyone" in the Nord Stream 2 issue.

"We must receive security guarantees, I think this is quite fair. And the most important thing in security guarantees is the return of our territories," he said.

Answering the question about what compensation Ukraine wants from Russia and the West, Zelensky said that he expects to end the war, calm and stability, regain control over territories and energy security. Otherwise, Kiev "will fight for its statehood and against Nord Stream 2, regardless of whether Europe likes it or not," he stressed.

The President clarified that he himself does not believe that this position will make it possible to "return" Crimea and Donbass.

Zelensky has previously raised the issue of opposing the construction of the gas pipeline. The Ukrainian president called the project a security challenge for Ukraine, and said that its introduction into operation is unacceptable.