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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with journalists ahead of his visit to Turkey, where he may meet with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. He explained that he could have a conversation with the Russian president.
According to him, Putin is afraid of direct talks. In his opinion, the Russian president does not want the war to end.
‘No one but me can negotiate with Putin. This is my responsibility. I did not forbid myself anything,’ Zelenskyy explained.
He recalled that he met with Putin in 2019. Putin’s visit to Turkey for talks will allegedly pave the way for other elements of ending the war, including a meeting of the groups.
‘An unconditional ceasefire for today, and according to the experience of all these days, months, cannot be ensured by any person from Russia, except Putin,’ Zelenskyy said during the briefing.
If Putin does not attend the talks scheduled for Thursday in Istanbul, Ukraine believes it will be the ‘final sign’ that Moscow has no intention of ending the war.
‘If Vladimir Putin refuses to go to Turkey, this will be the final sign that Russia does not want to end this war, that Russia is not willing and not ready for any negotiations,’ Andriy Yermak, head of the Presidential Office, said on Tuesday.
In this case, the world must react strongly, with new sanctions against the aggressor and increased military assistance to Ukraine.
The Kremlin refused to comment on Zelenskyy’s proposal to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the planned talks in Istanbul.
‘The Russian side continues to prepare for the talks scheduled for Thursday. This is all we can say at this time. We do not intend to give further comments at this time,‘ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to journalists’ questions.
Peskov added that it will be announced who the Kremlin will send to the planned talks ‘if the president deems it necessary’.
As a reminder, on 11 May, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed holding direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul.
