By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
I think Vladimir Putin will be a happy man tonight following this interview.
After being locked in a months-long stand-off over how the war ends, his opposite number appears to have blinked first, giving his clearest indication yet that Ukraine could be willing to cede territory (albeit not legally) in a peace deal.
As a man who doesn’t like to back down, the Russian president will view this as a psychological victory.
The same goes for Zelenskyy’s comments about being more afraid of losing people than land.
I expect Moscow will want to make the most of this.
It comes after a week of threats from the Kremlin in the wake of Ukraine firing Western weapons on Russian territory.
It’s perfect material for the propaganda machine, which can spin it as a climb-down by Kyiv in the face of Russian superiority.
That’s likely to be the public response. In private, though, could Zelenskyy’s apparent willingness to compromise promote similar movement here?
Officially, Vladimir Putin has two conditions for a ceasefire. The first is that Kyiv hands over, in their entirety, the four Ukrainian regions Russia has claimed and occupies the majority of. The second is for Ukraine to abandon its NATO ambitions.
The two are clearly incompatible in the scenario outlined by Zelenskyy – any ceding of territory is only if NATO membership is bestowed on the rest of the country.
But there are signs Vladimir Putin is eyeing peace…
