Kuleba: If Putin is not afraid to meet Zelenskyy, let them talk
Yevhen Rudenko, Kateryna Tyshchenko - Monday, 7 March 2022, 22:26
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba emphasised the need for direct talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Volodymyr Putin.
Source: Kuleba on Ukrainian TV channels
Details: The Minister stressed that talks between Zelenskyy and Putin have long been sought in Ukraine.
"I will repeat this to Lavrov once again. Our president is not afraid of anything, including a direct meeting with Putin. If Putin is not afraid either, let them sit down and talk," he said.
Dmytro Kuleba also said that he was ready for a substantive conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to end the war, if he is ready for it.
Verbatim: "If he (Lavrov - ed.) is ready for a serious conversation, then we can talk seriously, as a diplomat to a diplomat. If he starts repeating the same absurd propaganda that has been heard from him lately, then he has to hear the hard truth he deserves."
"However, I want to emphasise once again: if Mr. Lavrov is ready for a substantive conversation, then I am also ready for it. I am ready to talk to anyone in order to establish peace in Ukraine and not to kill Ukrainian citizens, not to destroy our cities and villages."
Background:
Kuleba noted that his first words to Lavrov at the meeting on March 10 will be: "Mr. Lavrov, I believe that I am holding this meeting with an accomplice, co-organizer of the crime of aggression against Ukraine. You must stop, or at least try to stop this crime. So let's talk seriously. "
Background: Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced that a tripartite meeting of Turkish, Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers would take place in Antalya on Thursday, March 10.
On March 3, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he was ready to sit down at the negotiating table with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had started the war against Ukraine.
