Vladimir Zelensky. Photo: office of the President of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said in an interview with the Italian Rai 1 TV channel that he was ready for talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on resolving the situation.
“As for negotiations with the Russian Federation, the issue is becoming more complicated every day,” he described the situation with contacts between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations. According to him, now at the talks the Ukrainian side is raising the issue of the withdrawal of the Russian military to the borders before February 24.
According to Zelensky, now the Ukrainian society is not in a positive mood for negotiations with Russia, but he himself is ready to talk. “I am ready to talk to Putin. But only with him. Without his intermediaries, any,” the Ukrainian president also noted.
Zelensky added that he agreed only to negotiate in terms of dialogue, and not in terms of ultimatums.
He explained that the Ukrainian leadership understands that peace comes after any conflict and “if there is a chance to end the war with dialogue, you need to use this chance.”
“There should be a pragmatic dialogue,” Zelensky added.