Kiev, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that it was possible to hold a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
But he stipulated the beginning of “agreement on security guarantees”.
During a press conference in Kiev, Zelensky pointed to Switzerland, Austria and Turkey as potential sites for negotiations.
He added: “We want to reach an understanding on the structure of security guarantees within 7 to 10 days”.
The Ukrainian president continued: “Based on this understanding, we aim to hold a tripartite meeting” with Putin and his American counterpart, Donald Trump.
He also made clear that he looked forward to a “strong response” from the United States if Putin was not willing to hold a meeting.
Western efforts to stop the war
Amid Western efforts to stop Ukraine’s war that has been going on for more than 3 years, Zelensky criticized Russia’s strengthening of its forces on the southern front line, in the Zaporizhia region, which Moscow claims to annex.
“Zaporizhia: The enemy is strengthening its presence,” he said. We can see that they continue to move part of their forces from the direction of Kursk to Zaporizhia.”
Zelensky added that it was unclear what concessions Moscow wanted to make regarding the territory, saying the proposal to hold future talks in Wadbest “represents a challenge”.
