Zelenskyy: Russia will delay talks with Ukraine in Istanbul to postpone sanctions
Russia will delay negotiations with the Ukrainian delegation in Istanbul, including to postpone sanctions.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this during a conversation with journalists, Censor.NET reports.
"The Russians will definitely pull Istanbul to postpone sanctions and so on. And we will really be in a difficult situation of choosing whether to continue like this or go in a different direction," he said.
The President added that at the first meeting in Istanbul, the Russians tried to add children to the list of prisoners of war for the exchange.
"They tried to make a swap - to give us children and take away their military. And we did not go for it. They said it meant we didn't want to return the children," he said.
According to him, at the next meeting in Istanbul, Ukraine handed over the first list of children, which was one of the lists that our partners received.
"They (Russians - ed.) accepted it. They did not raise the issue of their children with us, because they do not exist. This is just some kind of bravado. I don't know any of this. After that, they did not return to the topic of children," Zelenskyy added.
He also spoke about which sanctions against Russia work best and which can hit them the hardest.
According to the head of state, it is very difficult for Russians when sanctions are imposed on their banking system, as they slow down all processes and create difficulties.
However, in the President's opinion, the most effective sanctions are against the Russian energy sector.
"The energy sector is absolutely clear. In the energy sector, there is money not only from direct taxes, but also from dividends of energy companies, which help Putin replenish the budget. But there is also a shadow economy. Of course, this is a lot of money," he summarized.
