Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated his government is ready to begin peace negotiations with Russia once Moscow’s soldiers return to their pre-invasion positions on February 24.
“They must withdraw troops to such interim contact lines or division lines. Then we can begin full-fledged negotiations “Xinhua news agency cited Zelensky as stating during a press conference.
“To end the war between Russia and Ukraine, the first step should be to restore the situation as of February 23,” he “I was chosen by the people of Ukraine as President of Ukraine, not President of some sort of mini-Ukraine. This is a critical point.” According to the BBC, the allusion to the circumstances on February 23 signals that Ukraine may not insist on retaking Crimea before making peace with Russia.
Russia grabbed the peninsula eight years ago. “Despite the fact that they burned all our bridges, I think not all the bridges are yet gone, figuratively speaking,” the President stated, calling for the restart of diplomatic engagement between Russia and Ukraine. In late March, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations convened their most recent round of in-person peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey.