Zelensky gave a deadline of a year from December’s first summit with Putin to find a breakthrough. President Zelensky / REUTERS

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, believes he can negotiate a deal with Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, but has threatened to walk away from talks after a year if there is no progress with his Russian counterpart.

“Time is ticking,” he told the Guardian in a rare interview, to be published in full on Saturday. “The government can spend one year on the entire agreement. Then it should be implemented. Any longer is prohibited.” Read also Zelensky expects next prisoner swap with Russia in March Zelensky gave a deadline of a year from December’s first summit with Putin to find a breakthrough.

“I won’t give my five years, which were given to me by the Ukrainian people, to work on Minsk for five years. I won’t do it,” he said, adding there were “two or three plans” of what to do after walking away from talks, but declining to elaborate.

He said the peace negotiations were a distraction from his domestic agenda, which has been hampered by political infighting that culminated in his decision this week to oust the prime minister.

(C)UNIAN 2020