On the anniversary of the start of the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated his strict no to a meeting with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. In doing so, he was reacting in Kiev today to a move by Turkish President Recep Tayyin Erdogan, who wanted to persuade Putin to negotiate over the phone.
Zelenskyy said that even before the start of the war, Erdogan had suggested bringing Putin to the negotiating table to avoid a major war. “But he couldn’t.” Then he added, “Now we can’t.”
However, Zelenskyi offered the prospect of meeting Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping. “I believe this will be beneficial for our countries and for global security,” Zelenskyy said. “It’s not just about war. The point is that we are States interested in maintaining economic relations”.