The video recording was published on YouTube by the Office of the President on January 5.
"I would like to. Yes, I will look at what is currently happening, because there are difficult, escalating moments, a lot of rockets. But honestly, I cannot come, especially during wartime, unless President Trump directly invites me. It’s simply inappropriate," said Zelensky.
He noted that he is aware that, in general, leaders "are not typically invited to the inauguration of U.S. presidents."
"I know that there are leaders who can just come on their own if they want to. I understand the temperament of some people; they can show up uninvited. For me, it’s very, very difficult. I’m the kind of person who, you know, I can’t visit without an invitation. That [illegitimate Russian President Vladimir] Putin – we didn’t invite him, yet he came to us. I can’t do that," emphasized Zelensky.
According to him, there are also "some security issues."
"The United States of America must […] I’m not asking for helicopters to fly and protect me. They will just do it themselves. The security service itself. They have to do it. I don’t wish for that. Sometimes I don’t even need it. And I ask them. For example, this was the case even before the war," Zelensky recalled. "I don’t want to inconvenience anyone and I don’t want to create problems for anyone. And that’s why, if he invites me – I will come."