Zelenski, unhappy with negotiations with Russia from Istanbul
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski expressed his regret on what he called a chance for missed peace on Friday, after a first round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia after more than three years, the DPA agency reports.
An armistice and a direct meeting between Volodimir Zelenski and Russian President Vladimir Putin were the main objectives in the mandate of the Ukrainian delegation for these negotiations, but the Russian part only accepted to continue the discussions on these requests of the Ukrainian president.
‘This week, I really had a chance to advance in the direction of the war, if Putin was not afraid to come to Turkey’ to negotiations, Zelenski wrote on the Social Network X, while in the Albanian capital Tirana at the summit of the European political community (CPE).
He met with his main European allies, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Donald Tusk, and after the Istanbul’s negotiation round, they had a telephone discussion with US President Donald Trump.
« Ukraine is prepared to undertake the most fast steps for a real peace and it is important for the world to maintain a strong position against Russia, » Zelenski wrote on the discussion with Trump and European leaders. « Our position, if the Russians reject a complete and unconditional armistice and cessation of crimes, is that harsh sanctions must follow, » the Ukrainian president said.
For his part, the French President Macron told the press, after the same telephone discussion he participated in, that he is unacceptable that, for the second time, President Putin does not meet the requests made by Americans and supported by Ukraine and Europe ‘on the cessation of fire, while the Polish Prime Minister Tusk accused the Russia that he broke the Russia.
The four European leaders who have now had Zelenski with Trump’s telephone conversation on Saturday, in Kiev, that Russia will be hit by a new series of sanctions, this time that will affect their banking and energy systems, if, starting with the Moon that has passed, it does not accept a cessation of fire for 30 days.
