Zelensky on the impossibility of negotiations with Putin: "After a full-scale invasion, he is nobody to me"
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that Ukraine and Russia cannot sit down at the negotiating table to end the war because he does not know who is currently making decisions in Russia. He noted that "while Moscow is asking for peace, it is lying, attacking Ukraine with missiles at night."
In an interview with Sky News, Zelenskyy said that he was not interested in meeting with the Russian dictator because he considers him "a nobody". Zelenskyy also said Putin lives in an "information bubble" and has no idea what is actually happening on the battlefield.
Read also: Zelensky on the possibility of negotiations with Putin: "I'm not sure he's still alive"
Thus, when asked whether a personal meeting with Putin would help resolve the current conflict, Zelenskyy replied: "I'm not interested in that. I'm not interested in meeting, I'm not interested in talking. Why? Because we met with him in the Normandy format, before the full-scale invasion. I saw a man who said one thing and then did another. I can't understand - is it him or someone else? To meet with what, to shake hands? I'm not interested. Talking? I really don't understand who makes decisions in Russia."
"Who is he now? After the full-scale invasion, he is nobody, nobody for me," the president added.
Zelenskyy also mentioned Russians who send their children to war: "As a father, I don't understand how you can let your child go, knowing that he will die trying to take what he doesn't have."
He reminded the residents of Russia that Ukraine did not start the war, but that it was Russia that invaded our territory and started killing civilians: "This is murder. This is not self-defence. This is murder, premeditated murder."
During the interview, Zelenskyy also said that he was proud of Ukrainians and added that "people are the number one priority for him." "That's why I don't want to fight on Russian territory. I just want them to stop the war as soon as possible and leave our country as soon as possible. I can tell you for sure that if they leave our territory, the war will end," the president added.
Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that negotiations with Russia would be resumed only after all the territories within the 1991 borders are returned. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Presidential Office, also said that the Kremlin is pressuring Ukrainian partners to convince Zelensky to hold talks with Russia on their terms.
If you want to get the latest news about the war and events in Ukraine, subscribe to our Telegram channel!