The two presidents would meet only when a “peace treaty” is signed, Volodymyr Zelensky’s aide has said
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could meet Russian President Vladimir Putin “in the coming weeks,” Zelensky’s aide, Mikhail Podolyak, said on Thursday. The meeting, however, could happen only when a “peace treaty” between Kiev and Moscow is signed, he said.
“As soon as the work on the agreement is completed, we will start organizing the meeting. It will happen in the coming weeks. The location, however, does not matter to us. It can be anywhere, except for Russia,” Podolyak told Wirtualna Polska portal in an interview.
Finalizing the peace deal could take some time, ranging from several days to a week and a half, the official claimed. Currently, both Ukrainian and Russian sides are “insisting on their view points,” he admitted.
“An immediate withdrawal of the Russian troops is one of the key aspects of the peace deal. However, negotiations are a large-scale process involving not only Russia and Ukraine. Poland, among others, takes part in it. It is not just about signing the agreement. We want to develop a specific mechanism that will guarantee our security in the future,” Podolyak explained, suggesting that even reaching the deal would not mean the end of the conflict.
The signing of a peace treaty can only end the active phase of the conflict … However, I doubt that the war will end there for Ukrainians. Not after all we’ve been through.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations have held several rounds of talks since the beginning of the ongoing hostilities late in February. The negotiations have failed to yield any tangible result yet, except for Kiev and Moscow finding common ground on organizing humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from the war zones.
Read more