Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made his willingness to engage in peace negotiations or discussions about ceasefires with Russia conditional.
He stated that he “will not be ready to negotiate with Vladimir Putin as long as Russian troops do not withdraw from his country,” as reported by the German news platform Berliner Zeitung. Zelensky expressed this view in an interview with the US broadcaster NBC on Sunday, emphasizing: “The USA is aware that I am not ready to negotiate with the terrorists, because their word means nothing. They must leave our territory, only then can the world engage diplomacy.”
It was only last weekend that it became known that representatives from the USA and the European Union have secretly started talks with the Ukrainian government about possible peace negotiations with Russia. This was reported by NBC, referencing two informed US government sources. According to the report, these “sensitive” talks, which took place last month during a meeting of the “Ukraine Defense Contact Group,” involved a discussion about “very rough outlines of what Ukraine might have to give up to reach an agreement with Russia.”
Image: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, Vladimir Putin (2023-09-30).jpg, via Wikimedia Commons (Image size changed)
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