President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that in Ukraine’s view, Russia is not serious about peace talks.
He said this during a press conference in Ankara after meeting with Turkish President, Recep Teyyip Erdogan.
He asserted that Turkey and Ukraine have both provided high-level delegations, but Russia’s delegation indicates that they are “not serious” and there were no decision-makers in their delegation.
Out of respect for Erdogan and US President Donald Trump, and to try and achieve at least “the first step” to end the war, Zelenskyy said that he would still send a delegation to Istanbul headed by the Ukrainian Defence Minister.
He added that the mandate of the Ukrainian delegation is to discuss a ceasefire
He said the talks between all four sides – Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the US – could happen as soon as tonight.
Zelenskyy stressed that since Russian President, Vladimir Putin will not be present, there is no need for him to be in the direct talks in Istanbul.
However, he chose a delegation that could be in the same equilibrium as the Russian delegation, and said they didn’t mind taking the first step towards an immediate ceasefire that is necessary for direct peace talks.
Also, the Ukrainian President said that a proposed meeting with the Russian President could be skipped if an agreement on a ceasefire between the two countries is agreed during talks in Istanbul.
The Ukrainian leader told a press conference in Ankara that if Moscow failed to show any willingness to engage in the ceasefire talks, then other nations should put more political and economic pressure on Russia.
“Russia does not feel that it needs to end [the war], which means there is not enough political, economic and other pressure on the Russian Federation.
“And so we ask, if there is no ceasefire, if there are no serious decisions … we ask for appropriate sanctions.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Zelenskyy added that US President Donald Trump has put more pressure on Ukraine than Russia since assuming the presidency.
“You have to pressurise the side that does not want to end the war. The position of Turkey and the United States, you saw that President Trump thought it would help to pressurise both sides – I think they pressurised us more than the Russians.
“Ukraine is fighting for itself. We are not ready to lose our lives and land. That does not mean we are aggressors.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
He went on to say that Ukraine has “pre-conditions” ahead of negotiations with Russia, which launched a full invasion of its land in 2022.
“We have a lot of pre-conditions for the aggressors and if America made those steps … we went along with those steps and not only those steps, there were a lot of diplomatic steps.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Direct Negotiations Crucial
Moreover, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan believes that the war in Ukraine must end with “direct negotiations” between both sides.
Speaking at the press conference in Ankara, Zelenskyy said that the Turkish President had offered to host Ukrainian and Russian leaders “when they are ready.”
Zelenskyy stressed that all parties must demonstrate a willingness for negotiations, and that the first step must be the unconditional ceasefire.
He stated that if the unconditional ceasefire is possible today without the leaders present, then it’s unnecessary to meet, as there is a first step towards peace.
He added that if there is a signal from Russia that an unconditional ceasefire must be decided during direct talks, we are ready for direct negotiations.
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