On the anniversary of the start of the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated his strict no to a meeting with Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin. He was responding yesterday in Kiev to a move by Turkish President Recep Tayyin Erdogan, who wanted to persuade Putin to negotiate in a telephone call.
Zelenskyj said that even before the war broke out, Erdogan had suggested bringing Putin to the negotiating table in order to prevent a major war. “But he couldn’t.” Then he added, “Now we can’t.”
However, Zelenskyi held out the prospect of meeting with Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping. “I believe that this will be beneficial for our countries and global security,” said Zelenskyy. “It’s not just about war. The point is that we are states interested in maintaining economic relations.”
China had previously called for a ceasefire and negotiations in a position paper.
Read more …