Zelenskyy: I would ask Putin how Ukrainian Donbas and Crimea will live
IRYNA BALACHUK — SATURDAY, 23 APRIL 2022, 21:38
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he would talk only about the issue of Ukraine's territorial integrity during his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Source: Zelenskyy at a press conference on 23 April
Zelenskyy’s quote: "The questions I would discuss with the President of the Russian Federation solely - and I mean solely - concern issues that interest me solely as President of Ukraine. That is the question of territorial integrity. And these are the issues I would discuss with him - how our Ukrainian Donbas will live and how our Crimea will live going forward. How we can agree, at what point we can agree on this, and whether we can do it at all."
Details: The President said that the most important thing now is that Ukraine is raising this issue and is even hearing Russia beginning to respond.
"This dialogue has started - not the way we like it, but it has started. I think that the dialogue (with Putin - ed.) would be very substantive", Zelenskyy concluded.
Background:
- On 4 April, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the longer Russia delayed the meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia, the worse it would be for Russia.
- On 7 April, he said that Ukraine's agreements on security guarantees do not necessarily have to precede his meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, so as not to slow down the dialogue process.
- On 9 April President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine had no choice but to sit down at the negotiating table with Vladimir Putin, because only he could stop the war.
- On 12 April, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that after the meeting in Istanbul and the atrocities committed by the Russians in Bucha, negotiations with Ukraine had reached a dead end.
