Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today he is ready to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but as long as there is no “ultimatum”.
In an interview with Rai broadcaster “Door to Door” Italian talk show, Zelensky admitted that negotiations with Moscow “are getting more complicated every day” because the Russians have invaded new villages and “many people have left their homes or been killed.”
“This greatly complicates the possibility of conducting negotiations. We want them to understand that our society is very peaceful, that we have wanted to negotiate for eight years. I am ready to talk with Putin, but without an ultimatum,” said the president.
Ceasefire negotiations have come to a standstill since the end of March, when Ukraine accepted the possibility of not joining NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), but as long as it has a clear path and security guarantees to enter the European Union. international forces.
But the two countries have yet to move forward in talks on eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region, which includes the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 and the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk.
Moscow demands recognition of the sovereignty of all Donbass and the annexation of Crimea, but Ukraine advocates preserving its territorial integrity. “I never talked about recognizing the independence of Crimea, we will never recognize it as part of the Russian Federation,” Zelensky said.
The president also said it was “unjustified” to ask Kiev to “give something to save Putin’s skin”, including land. “The Russians must go and account for what they have done. We cannot compromise our independence. Ukraine wants very normal things like peace and respect for its sovereignty, territorial integrity, popular traditions and language,” he said.
The Russian invasion began on February 24, and Moscow’s troops are now focused on fully seizing the Donbass after a failed attempt to conquer the capital, Kiev, in the first weeks of the war.
source: Noticias
