Ukrainian President proposes US participation in Minsk Agreement negotiations

Ukrainian President Zelensky. Photo: Tass

In an interview with the Financial Times on April 26, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that it is necessary to amend the terms of the Minsk Agreement, and increase the number of parties participating in the "Normandy Format" negotiations, including the US, UK, and Canada.

"I am now participating in a process that has been developing since my term before I became president. The Minsk process needs to become more flexible in the current context, to serve the purposes of the present, not of the past," President Zelensky said.

Mr Zelensky proposed two options: "We can change the Minsk format, readjust it. Or we can use some other format. The speed of this process is very important, because we are losing people every day."

The Ukrainian leader noted that he wanted to hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin; at the same time, he stressed that Kiev was not interested in the location, but "wanted to focus on the topic of discussion." Meanwhile, Mr. Zelensky rejected the Kremlin boss's proposal to ask Kiev to negotiate with the authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk Republics, before talking to Moscow.

Ukrainian officials believe that if a meeting between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine takes place, it should be held within the framework of the "Normandy Format", or in a third country, instead of in Moscow or in Donbass.