Zelensky on possible dialogue with Russia: This is not dialogue, this is ultimatum

19:30, 04.08.2022 1 min read

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that he does not believe in dialogue with Russia.

"They don't offer us a dialogue. They offer us to surrender," he said on Thursday, answering questions from representatives of the African media.

"I have been president for three years. You will not find a single president of the EU countries who has not received signals from me for three years that I want direct talks with the president of Russia, that we cannot allow a full-scale war, that there will be tens and hundreds of thousands of dead and millions of refugees," he said.

"I called him many times," Zelensky said, noting that "they always found reasons not to allow dialogue."

"When they came to occupy us here, what should I do? Should I call again? This is not a dialogue or reconciliation. This is an ultimatum. It sounds like this: ‘If you don't do as we want, we will kill you,’" Zelensky said, adding: "They tie our hands, cut off our tongue, and then say they are ready for dialogue."