Kyiv: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that if Russia goes ahead with the referendum on the occupied territories in Ukraine, it will withdraw from the talks. Zelensky said that he would not accept the move to annex the captured territories to Russia and would not negotiate with Russia.
Russia and its allies have seized large swathes of territory in Ukraine’s Donbas region and southern regions. Zelensky’s statement comes amid a Russian move to annex these areas by plebiscite.
In the video released yesterday, Zelensky stated that he will not give up any territory of Ukraine to Russia. Zelensky said the possibility of negotiations would also be closed if the occupiers went ahead with the fake referendum. The two countries have held several talks since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, there was no significant progress in the talks.