Zelenski: “I reaffirmed my willingness to meet with the Russian president in any format” / Appeal to the global southern to bring Putin to the negotiation table
Photo: Ukraine Presidency via Bestimage / Bestimage / Profimedia
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski said on Saturday that the global southern countries should put pressure on Russia to get to peace in the Ukraine war, including supporting President Vladimir Putin to the negotiation table, notes Reuters.
“I reaffirmed my availability for any meeting format with the head of Russia. However, we see that Moscow is trying to delay even more,” Zelenski wrote on X, after a discussion with South Africa president Cyril Ramaphosa.
“It is important for the global south to convey the necessary signals and push Russia to peace,” Zelenski continued.
The prospect of a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents, Vladimir Putin and Volodimir Zelenski, announced by the American leader Donald Trump and meant to find a peaceful solution to the conflict seems more and more distant.
Trump said on Friday that the organization of a Putin-Zenski meeting is “as if you were trying to mix the oil with vinegar,” according to AFP.
Moreover, the leader of the United States said that he is unhappy with how peace efforts are going and estimated that in two weeks he will know if progress is possible, a context in which he again evoked the possibility of “massive sanctions” against Russia.
“We will see if Putin and Zelenski will be able to work together. You know, it's like oil and vinegar, in a way. They don't understand each other for obvious reasons,” Trump told Washington journalists.
Zelenski says that “the Russians do everything they can to prevent” a meeting / Moscow: “No meeting is planned”
The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, said on Friday that Russia is doing everything he can to meet between him and his Kremlin counterpart and urged Kiev's allies to introduce new sanctions if Moscow shows no interest in peace.
“Unlike Russia, Ukraine is not afraid of any meeting with leaders,” he concluded.
Also on Friday, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs said “no meeting” between Russia and Ukraine's presidents is planned.
“No meeting is planned,” Sergei Lavrov said in an interview for the show “Meet with Kristen Welker” at the NBC, according to AFP.
Minister Lavrov claims that President Vladimir Putin will be ready to have a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart “when there is an agenda for the summit”, but “at this time there is no”.
