Poroshenko, Zelenskyy discuss ways to end war during meeting

Ukrainian MP, leader of the European Solidarity party and Ukraine’s fifth president from 2014 to 2019, Petro Poroshenko, has said that during his recent first meeting in a long time with incumbent President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, they primarily discussed ways to end the war in Ukraine, the party said on the website on Friday.

"I went in with a certain distrust and skepticism about the sincerity of Zelenskyy’s desire to end the war. And when I left that meeting, I had much less skepticism. We devoted a significant part of our time to how to end the war and how to bring peace. For me, this was very positive," Poroshenko said on the sidelines of the Black Sea Security Forum.

The politician did not provide any other details of the conversation and said he had agreed with President Zelenskyy "not to comment on this meeting" and that he "is keeping to these agreements."

At the same time, he said that later he "was very surprised by the wave of interest, attention and hope that our meeting with Zelenskyy generated."

"I think this is a positive sign," Poroshenko said.

As reported, on Tuesday Zelenskyy held meetings with representatives of parliamentary factions and deputy groups, after which Poroshenko announced his first meeting in many years with the incumbent president and said regular dialogue with him had been agreed.

"Finally, for the first time in many years, our face-to-face meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took place. It was initiated at the request of faction leaders at the Conciliation Council, and it is important that the president heard us," Poroshenko said.

He noted that amid a war for survival, "dialogue with parliament and the restoration of its agency are important."

"There are too many challenges that can only be overcome together. We agreed that such meetings will take place regularly and that dialogue will become permanent," Poroshenko added.