President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s comments come ahead of a new round of face-to-face talks between Russia and Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is ready to discuss adopting neutral status as part of a peace deal with Russia, but the move would need third-party guarantees and a referendum.
“Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear status of our state. We’re ready to tackle it. That’s the main point,” Zelenskyi said, speaking to Russian journalists in a video call released by local media on Sunday, despite warnings against publication by Moscow authorities.
The President consistently delivered his message in Russian, as he had done in previous speeches when addressing Russian audiences.
He said the invasion of Russia caused the destruction of Russian-speaking cities in Ukraine and said the damage was worse than Russia’s wars in Chechnya. Ukraine is discussing the use of the Russian language in Ukraine in talks with Russia, but refuses to discuss other Russian demands such as Ukraine’s demilitarization, he added.
Zelenskyy said a peace agreement would not be possible without a ceasefire and troop withdrawals. He ruled out attempting to recapture all Russian-held territory by force, as it would lead to a third world war, and said he wanted to reach a “compromise” over the eastern Donbass region, held by Russian-backed forces since 2014 will.
However, Russia’s media watchdog Roskomnadzor, in a statement, told Russian media “that the interview does not have to be made public,” adding that all media outlets that conducted the interview would be reviewed “to determine the level of responsibility and response measures.” determine. He did not give a reason for his warning.
Among the Russian journalists who recently spoke to Zelenskyy via video link was a reporter from the Moscow daily newspaper Kommersant. Journalists from Meduza and Dozhd media, whose pages are blocked in Russia, were also present.
Meduza published the interview, which lasted about an hour and a half. The site could still be accessed via alternative internet connections and, for example, from abroad.
The Ukrainian leader’s dialogue with the journalists takes place as the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops has entered its second month, which according to conservative estimates by the United Nations has caused the deaths of more than 1,000 civilians and more than 3.8 million people forced to flee the country.
From French President Emmanuel Macron to Turkish President Receipt Tayyip Erdogan, international actors have repeatedly tried to mediate to find a diplomatic solution to a ceasefire.
The latest attempt came in a phone call between Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday, during which the two leaders agreed to another round of talks between Kyiv and Moscow in the Turkish capital of Istanbul.
No dates were given for the meeting, but earlier in the day, Ukrainian chief negotiator David Arakhamia said the next negotiations between the two parties will take place in Turkey on March 28-30. A Russian negotiator confirmed that face-to-face talks would take place.
A first meeting between top Ukrainian and Russian diplomats, held in Turkey on March 10, yielded no significant results.