Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he does not know how long it would take to bring the relationship between Ukraine and Russia back to what it used to be before the war.

"I don't know how many years it would take to restore the relationship to the level it used to be at before the war. I think this is impossible for many people in our country. Again, it's a matter of generations. Perhaps it is possible for future generations. Perhaps. Time heals all wounds," Zelensky said in an exclusive interview with Interfax.

Russia can start resolving the problem itself right now, he said.

"If the presidents sat down at one table and agreed to set an example of understanding that things can't go on the same way and it's time to end the war - I mean this very level of conversation: listen, let's agree that you are on your own, and we are on our own, but if we have peace, let's talk about pragmatic relations," Zelensky said.

If there is no war, Ukrainians and Russians can maintain their relations in this pragmatic way, he said.

"That is, Russians won't see the red carpet rolled out for them in Ukraine, but if they come to us when there is peace, if they come, for instance, to Truskavets [a mineral water resort in the Lviv region], they would hear: okay, pay the money, stay and get treatment here. These would be pragmatic economic relations," Zelensky said.

"But I can't even imagine what steps have to be made and how long it would take for you to be welcomed as close people," he said.