Facts

Zelensky seeking to accelerate end of war in Donbas by offering negotiations to Putin - adviser to head of President's Office

Adviser to the head of the President's Office, Mykhailo Podoliak, notes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking to accelerate the end of the war in Donbas by inviting President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to hold appropriate negotiations.

"Volodymyr Zelensky believes that direct inter-presidential dialogue is an important and indispensable opportunity to speed up the time required for a decision since war is war. These are the tragedies of specific people. Based on this, the President of Ukraine invited the President of Russia to meet. In fact, the proposal was accepted. And what this fact is now being explained is the technical side," Podoliak told Interfax-Ukraine.

He added that "the real topics of negotiations will certainly be directly agreed upon in consultations between the Office of the President of Ukraine and the Administration of the President of Russia, although the issues of ending the conflict in Donbas are also actively discussed within the Normandy format and the Trilateral Contact Group.

"It's because one must always focus only on the final essence of the processes. Is it possible to stop a war without negotiations? Certainly not. Is it possible to resolve this or that conflict only through aggressive propaganda? Of course, not. Can negotiations be held to stop a specific war without the participation of the Russian parties? No, they can't," concluded the adviser to the head of the President's Office.

Earlier, Zelensky announced preparations for a meeting with the President of Russia and said that the relevant instructions had been given to head of his office Andriy Yermak. "It seems to me that everything is leading to the fact that this meeting will take place. I really suggested [to Putin] and everyone heard it - to meet in Donbas. The President of the Russian Federation confirmed his intention to meet. He proposed to do this in Moscow. I have already given the task to head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak so that he would contact the Administration of President Putin, so that they find mutual understanding, agree on terms and a place where we can meet," Zelensky said, answering a journalist's question on Monday.

"The main thing is in the essence of the conversation, and the place and time are the details," the President of Ukraine added.

Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that such a dialogue can only relate to the problems of bilateral relations. "That is, this dialogue cannot be carried out on the basis of the goals of seeking a settlement in the south-east of Ukraine," he said.

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