The war in Ukraine can only be ended through “
diplomatic
” means, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured Saturday, while negotiations between Moscow and Kiev are at an impasse.
"
The end (of the conflict) will be diplomatic
," he said in an interview with a Ukrainian television channel.
The war “
will be bloody, it will be fighting, but it will end definitively via diplomacy
”.
“
There are things we can only achieve at the negotiating table.
We want everything to come back (as before)
”, which “
Russia does not want
”, he added, without giving further details.
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Life saves Azovstal soldiers as a condition
Referring to a document on Ukraine's security guarantees, he affirmed that it will be signed by "
Ukraine's friends and partners, without Russia
", while in parallel there will be "
a bilateral discussion with Russia
”.
He also recalled having made it a sine qua non condition for the continuation of the talks that the Ukrainian soldiers entrenched in the vast metallurgical complex of Azovstal in Mariupol, in the south-east of Ukraine, are not killed by the Russian army.
But the Russian troops "
gave the possibility, found a way for these people to come out alive
" from Azovstal, he noted.
"
The most important thing for me is to save as many people and soldiers as possible
."
Read also War in Ukraine: Is Russia experiencing a missile shortage, as Zelensky claims?
On Tuesday, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, Mykhaïlo Podoliak, had indicated that the talks between Moscow and Kiev were "
on hold
", believing that Moscow was not showing any "
understanding
" of the situation.
The next day, the Kremlin accused Ukraine of "
total unwillingness
" to negotiate with Russia to end the invasion of Ukraine, launched on February 24.
Several meetings between negotiators from both sides have taken place but have yielded no concrete results.
The last meeting between the heads of delegations - Vladimir Medinski on the Russian side and David Arakhamia for Ukraine - dates back to April 22, according to Russian agencies.
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