Half of Putin’s inner circle wants war to end. I told Russian businessman that we were ready to talk from very beginning, — Zelenskyy
There are different kinds of people around Russian dictator Vladimir Putin—half of them want to continue this war, while the other half want to stop it.
This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with The Guardian, according to Censor.NET.
The state of the Russian economy
According to him, Russian business leaders now realize that the Russian economy is in a terrible state.
"If Western countries—Europe, Canada, and the U.S.—do not lift sanctions, intensify pressure on Russia’s shadow fleet and other sectors, and Ukraine remains strong on the battlefield, we will be closer to peace," the head of state noted.
Meeting with a Russian businessman
"I told this businessman, who came to convey a message about a potential framework for diplomatic negotiations, that we were ready to talk from the very beginning. We did not want this war and we want to stop it," Zelenskyy clarified.
He also recalled that he had told reporters yesterday that in Anchorage, Russia and the U.S. had decided to discuss Ukraine without Ukraine.
"That was a mistake, especially for America, because Putin weakened the U.S. position. I think he lied to the President of the United States. In any case, we are ready to talk, but we will not give up our territory," he concluded.
What preceded it?
- On 5 June, Putin himself stated during the St Petersburg International Economic Forum that the Russian businessman had allegedly travelled to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.
- On 7 June, the Financial Times, citing four sources, reported that in May, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich had travelled to Kyiv at the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian leader had tried, through him, to persuade Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to agree to direct peace talks.
