Presidential adviser says Ukraine will set conditions in any negotiations with Russia
A top adviser to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, issued a defiant message two days following the Russian invasion began.
“I don’t think that following what is happening now, Ukraine will have weak positions,” said Myhailo Podoliak, speaking on national television. “Even if the negotiation process starts, and it will start, Ukraine will set the conditions.”
Back and forth negotiations: a separate Zelensky spokesman, Sergii Nykyforov, said late Friday that Ukraine “has been and remains ready to talk regarding a ceasefire and peace.”
His comments follow a Russian proposal to send representatives to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, to talk with Kyiv. A Kremlin spokesman said the Ukrainian side responded with a proposal to meet in Warsaw and later called off contact, but Nykyforov denied any “claims that we have refused to negotiate.”
“We agreed on the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation,” Nykyforov said. “The sooner the negotiations start, the better the chances of resuming normal life.”
