Talks with Russia possible only after completion of all exchanges agreed in Istanbul – Zelenskyy
It is too early to talk about full-scale negotiations between Ukraine and Russia until the prisoner exchanges agreed upon at the second meeting in Istanbul are completed.
This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to Censor.NET citing RBC-Ukraine.
Zelenskyy noted that if we are talking about a serious outcome and ending the war, a summit-level meeting must be prepared.
"As I have said before, we are ready for any format. Certainly, Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S. at the leaders’ level is the desired format. There should be not only words and guarantees at the negotiating table," he added.
"As for the venue, I am grateful to the Italian side, the Vatican... I am very glad that the Vatican is open. We also have proposals from Austria, Switzerland, and direct offers from the Turkish side," Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian president added that despite all the proposals, it is still too early to discuss the next negotiations.
"We must achieve the result the parties agreed on at the second meeting—namely, to complete the prisoner exchanges agreed upon in Istanbul. I believe the corresponding steps will be taken soon. Only after that can teams discuss preparing a summit-level meeting. That’s roughly how it is," Zelenskyy explained.
