No ultimatums and respect for sovereignty: Umierov on possible meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin

Rustem Umerov. Photo: glavnoe.in.ua

Defence Minister Rustem Umierov has said that Ukraine plans to discuss a possible meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin after the talks on humanitarian issues are completed.

He said this during a meeting with journalists, noting that Ukraine has always demonstrated consistency in its pursuit of peace, RBC-Ukraine quoted.

«We supported the US initiative for a complete ceasefire from the very beginning and proved it through many rounds of negotiations. But any dialogue is possible only without ultimatums and with respect for the sovereignty of our state,» Rustem Umierov stressed.

According to him, the authorities will soon provide more information on the negotiation process and its format, «Interfax-Ukraine».

As a reminder, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he did not rule out the possibility of peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but questioned his right to sign any international agreements. According to him, the Kremlin does not recognise the current Ukrainian president as a legitimate representative of the state.

Earlier, Putin said he did not support the idea of holding talks with Ukraine at the level of leaders and compared the Ukrainian government to a terrorist organisation.

At the same time, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was ready for a personal meeting with Vladimir Putin and offered Russia a temporary ceasefire before it.