“Direct contact”. Europe asks Putin to meet Zelensky again

Vladimir Putin believes that the Ukrainian side has shown inconsistency in the negotiations and is “not ready to seek mutually acceptable solutions”. on this he declaration During telephone conversations with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.

“Responding to Charles Michel’s call for direct contact, [президентом Украины ] Russian President Volodymyr Zelensky reaffirmed the well-known position on this issue, noting that such a possibility depends especially on the concrete results of the ongoing negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian representatives.

Discussing Ukraine with the president of the European Council, Putin voiced his “principal assessments” of Russia’s special operation. Therefore, he stressed that Russia opens humanitarian corridors every day and declares a regime of silence in order to safely evacuate the civilian population. Putin stated that he ordered “for humanitarian reasons” not to raid the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.

“At the same time, all soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, militants of national battalions and foreign mercenaries who have laid down their weapons are guaranteed life, decent treatment and qualified medical care in accordance with international law. But the Kyiv regime does not allow this opportunity to be used,” he said.

Putin also drew attention to the “irresponsible statements of EU representatives”, who said that the situation in Ukraine should be resolved by military means. The Russian president also stated that the West is ignoring the “numerous war crimes committed by the Ukrainian security forces”.

The talks between Russia and Ukraine were evaluated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on 22 April today.

“I’m not going to talk about venues, but how Ukraine relates to these negotiations. “It is very strange for me to hear statements every day from various Ukrainian representatives, including the president and his advisers, who argue that they do not need these negotiations at all, that they submit to their fate,” he said.

Lavrov said at a press conference after meeting with Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi.

Thus, the head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs answered the question of whether it is possible to hold Russian-Ukrainian negotiations on the field of Kazakhstan.

Asked to comment on Zelensky’s words that the death of the Ukrainian army at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol would end the negotiations, Lavrov said Russia would not tolerate any ultimatum. He believes that Zelensky was wrong in associating the negotiations with the Russian Federation with the situation of the army in Azovstal.

“I cannot qualify President Zelensky’s statements. “I’m not sure you understand what’s at stake,” he said.

According to Lavrov, negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are progressing slowly. “We negotiated <...> Now they have stopped, because another proposal, which we submitted to the Ukrainian negotiators five days ago and formulated taking into account the comments received at that time, remained unanswered, ”said Lavrov.

He added that Russia has not spoken to anyone about security guarantees for Ukraine.

Kremlin April 20 reportedThe Russian side delivered to Kiev a desirable version of a future peace agreement, which had “absolutely worked on clear language”. “The ball is on their side. “We are waiting for an answer,” said Dmitry Peskov, Press Spokesman for the President of the Russian Federation.

Mikhail Podolyak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said that the Ukrainian delegation “delivered the opposition solution proposals to the opposition” during the meeting in Istanbul. Now, according to him, Russia has given an answer. Podolyak did not specify how quickly Kiev would respond to him.

Since the beginning of Russian special operations, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have met face-to-face four times. Three meetings were held in Belarus and one in Turkey. Delegations also communicate via video link.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko invited Putin and Zelensky to meet in Minsk on February 24, the first day of the special operation.

“We are Slavs, we are three Slavic peoples. Let’s sit down and decide our destiny for the future forever,” said Lukashenka.

Turkey, Azerbaijan and Israel also offered to hold a meeting of leaders. Zelensky himself described Israel in March as a desirable place twice, “especially Jerusalem.” “If possible, this is the right place to find peace,” says the Ukrainian president.

The Kremlin said a meeting between Putin and Zelensky was “hypothetically possible”. However, only after the negotiators of the parties agree on a specific version of the peace agreement.

“A certain document needs to mature in the bowels of the work of the two delegations. Not a set of ideas, but a specific written document. Then the turn of such a meeting will come, ”explained Peskov.

Russia has adopted this format: an agreement is first drafted and then approved by the negotiators. After the document has been checked by the foreign ministers during a personal meeting, as well as with the presidents, a face-to-face meeting takes place.

Zelensky sees this differently. He thinks he should see Putin sooner. “These [российская сторона] I would like to discuss when there is already a final agreement on all points. With all due respect to all negotiators, all negotiation processes, I can honestly say that I cannot decide everything for me.”