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Bloomberg: Ukrainian President may negotiate directly with President Putin

BA (according to Tin Tuc Newspaper) January 23, 2025 22:59

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he could enter direct peace talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, if US President Donald Trump provided security guarantees to Kiev.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference in Kiev on August 24, 2024.

According to RT (Russia), Mr. Zelensky signed a decree prohibiting him from negotiating with Mr. Putin in the fall of 2022, after the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, along with the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, officially joined Russia after referendums. Earlier this month, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga stressed that the decree was still in effect.

However, in an interview with Bloomberg on January 22, Mr. Zelensky seemed to change his stance on this issue. Accordingly, the Ukrainian leader said he wanted President Trump to ensure his commitment to protecting Ukraine before entering into negotiations with President Putin.

“The only question is what those security guarantees are. Frankly, I want to know before we negotiate. If Mr. Trump can provide strong and irreversible security guarantees to Ukraine, we will go down this diplomatic path,” Mr. Zelensky said.

On January 21, President Trump said he was ready to meet President Putin at any time to discuss a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“We are talking to Mr. Zelensky. We will talk to President Putin soon and we will see how it goes,” he said.

On the Russian side, at a meeting of the National Security Council on January 21, President Putin welcomed Mr. Trump's intention to resume contacts between Russia and the United States, which had been interrupted under President Joe Biden. However, Mr. Putin emphasized that any dialogue must be based on the principles of "equality and mutual respect."

Mr Putin also noted Mr Trump's statements about restoring contacts and stressed the urgent need to prevent the risk of World War III.

However, President Putin's foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, said the Kremlin had not yet received any contact from the White House about a specific schedule for the phone call between the two leaders. Mr. Ushakov affirmed that Moscow was always ready to discuss with the new US administration.

In a related development, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on January 22 that it was not possible to say anything about the negotiating capacity of the new US administration, but there was still a "small chance" of reaching agreements with the new Trump administration.

“It is important to understand what and who we are dealing with, how best to build a relationship with Washington, how best to maximize opportunities and minimize risks,” he said.

BA (according to Tin Tuc Newspaper)
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Bloomberg: Ukrainian President may negotiate directly with President Putin