Russia sets conditions for direct negotiations between Russian President and Ukrainian President
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that it may be necessary to hold direct dialogue between President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and that the Russian leader is ready to engage in such talks, but preparation is needed.
“We confirm that President Putin did not reject the idea of a meeting with President Zelensky,” Lavrov said after “difficult” talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Antalya, Türkiye on March 10.
The Russian foreign minister said he had reiterated to his Ukrainian counterpart that President Putin and Russia were “always ready to meet if we can resolve the issue.” However, Moscow saw no need to hold a meeting “just for the sake of meeting.”
According to Mr. Lavrov, it is possible that at some point such a meeting will be needed. But for that to happen, preparatory work must be carried out together with the Belarusian side.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations have held three rounds of talks in Belarus since Russia began its military operation in Ukraine on February 24. However, the sides have yet to achieve any significant results.
“Our specific proposals have been listened to by the Ukrainian side and they have promised a specific answer. We are still waiting,” said Mr. Lavrov./.
