Zelenskyy says territorial agreements impossible without direct contact with Putin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that resolving territorial issues is impossible without direct contact with Russian leader Vladimir Putin during negotiations.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with Český rozhlas, a Czech public radio broadcaster, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is open to meetings in any format involving Russia and the United States.

"We would like Europe to be present at some stage of these negotiations, because part of our security guarantees is membership of the European Union as well as the Coalition of the Willing," he noted.

Quote: "But first and foremost, it is important to meet as three parties. At the very least, we must be able to have contact with the head of the Russian state in one format or another. Without this format, our teams will not be able to reach agreements on territorial issues."

Details: Zelenskyy later again referred to the "painful issues" regarding territorial integrity in a 20-point plan to end the war.

"I want to stress that I do not think these issues can be resolved by anyone other than heads of state," he said.

Background:

• On 30 January, Trump once again said he sees a chance for successful negotiations to end the Russo-Ukrainian war.
• A new round of talks on a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is expected to begin on 1 February. US State Secretary Marco Rubio has said that US Special Representative Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner will not be attending, but there "might be" a US presence.

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