As reported, Vladimir Zelensky on Sunday rejected the possibility of negotiating with Russia on the territory of Belarus, noting that Minsk is a party to the conflict. The President of Ukraine, however, assured that he was open for negotiations elsewhere.
The Kremlin confirmed that the Russian delegation, which is supposed to participate in negotiations with Ukraine, has arrived in Belarus. “We will be ready to start negotiations in Gomel,” Russian news agencies quoted Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Moscow authorities, as saying. The delegation will include representatives of the Administration of the President of Russia, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Earlier in Moscow, it was reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was avoiding starting negotiations. Only Russian independent media reported on the readiness of the Ukrainian authorities for negotiations and stated that negotiations could be conducted in any format, both through intermediaries and directly.
The Russian delegation is in Gomel
According to representatives of the office of Vladimir Zelensky, the Russian delegation arrived in Gomel, although they knew that there would be no negotiations. – Four days ago rockets were fired in our direction from the territory of Belarus. Tanks and helicopters have attacked us from your territory, they are shooting at our houses and killing our citizens,” the President of Ukraine said.
Since then, he added, Ukrainians have been fighting for their state and freedom. – If there was no aggression from your territory, we could talk in Minsk. When you were neutral, then we talked in Minsk,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President of Ukraine indicated that his country wants peace and is ready for negotiations, but they may not take place in Minsk. According to him, the Ukrainian side offered, in particular, Bratislava, Warsaw, Istanbul, Baku. According to him, Kyiv will also go to other cities located on the territory of countries from which missiles do not fly towards Ukraine.