President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky hopes that a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin will help prevent an aggravation of the situation in Donbass. He told about this in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
The head of state noted that the conflict in the south-east of Ukraine is the only war in Europe.
“In addition to the existing formats, we also need direct presidential negotiations”, – he said.
The head of state added that the confrontation in the Donbass destabilizes the situation not only in Ukraine, but in Europe as a whole. He expressed the hope that in the course of negotiations with his Russian counterpart, it will be possible to work out a concrete plan to end hostilities.
Last week, Zelensky suggested that Putin “meet anywhere in the Ukrainian Donbass where there is a war”. The Russian president replied that Kiev, first of all, should conduct a dialogue with the leadership of the self-proclaimed republics. He added that he is ready to receive his Ukrainian counterpart in Moscow if he wants to discuss the bilateral agenda. It was separately emphasized that it does not include either Crimea or Donbass.
On Monday, the President of Ukraine said that everything is going to the point that a meeting with Putin will take place, and the time and place are already details. The Kremlin confirmed that the administrations of both leaders are in constant contact.
Tensions in Donbass have escalated recently. In the DPR and LPR, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are accused of this, while Kiev and Western countries are talking about the activity of the Russian military at the borders.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that it is interested in stabilizing the situation in the neighboring country, and also clarified that it is not going to attack anyone.