Zelenskyy says he's ready to talk to Putin about Donbas and language

ROMAN KRAVETS - THURSDAY, 3 MARCH 2022, 19:51

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he was ready to talk to Vladimir Putin on equal terms about any issues that are of concern to the Russian government.

Source: President of Ukraine during a press briefing with international media

Zelenskyy said: "I have to talk to Putin. Because there is no other way to stop the war. That's why I have to do it.

"I'm an open person, I know all the issues raised by President Putin, his entourage and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. I believe that we should speak without insults, without pre-conditions; that we should just talk as men and and as people…

"I'm ready to discuss any and all issues. I understand them all very deeply. I am ready to speak about Ukraine, about its language and about the Russian language issue, as they say, although I don't see it. About occupied or unoccupied Donbas. About "DNR" (the so-called Donetsk People's Republic - ed.), "LNR" (the so-called Luhansk People's Republic - ed.), about everything that is happening".

Details: President Zelenskyy reminded journalists that before his presidency and before the war, he was a popular figure in Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, so, in his words, he "perfectly understands the mentality of these peoples".

He said: "I know where we are the same, where there is a difference and where we can find certain points [of compromise] to stop fighting and for peace to begin.

We are ready for this. We want peace. We should not be spoken to as a third-rate country or a country from another planet".

If we speak like people and as equals, we can discuss their issues related to 'security' or whatever they want to call it. And we will resolve all these issues."