Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Future negotiations with Russia will mainly involve Ukraine's claimed territory
Sputnik, Washington, October 18 - Vladimir Zelenskyy, after meeting with US President Trump, admitted that the territories considered by Kyiv as its own will be the main content of the negotiation for resolving the Ukraine issue, but it is a sensitive issue.
After his meeting with Trump at the White House, he told reporters:
"In any negotiation, in any form of negotiation, the most difficult issue is the territorial issue. It is frustrating, but this is (will involve - note) the territory of Ukraine."
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said Kyiv hopes both sides' armies can stop at the current positions they occupy.
He added: "We need to stop at our current position, which is important, and then negotiate."
Before the Alaska meeting between the Russian and US presidents, Zelenskyy had claimed he would not make territorial concessions. But he admitted in late August that Ukraine could not recover the territory through military means.
On Friday, Trump met with Vladimir Zelenskyy in Washington. In their "frank and honest" conversation, Trump clearly told Zelenskyy that he would not get long-range missiles.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov previously pointed out that Russia is willing to discuss political solutions with Ukraine and work in any form, but the proposal made by Russia in the Istanbul talks in 2022 regarding the establishment of three working groups to specifically study humanitarian, military, and political issues has not yet received a response from Kyiv. Additionally, Zelenskyy rejected the proposal by Russian President Putin to go to Moscow for diplomatic negotiations.
After the coup in Ukraine in February 2014, Crimea held a referendum in March of the same year, with 96.77% of the voters in Crimea and 95.6% of the voters in Sevastopol voting to join Russia, and the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol were incorporated into the Russian territory. Ukraine still considers Crimea as temporarily occupied territory. The Russian leadership has repeatedly stated that the Crimean residents joined Russia through democratic channels, fully following international law and the UN Charter. Russian President Putin said that the Crimean issue is "completely resolved and does not need to be discussed again."
From September 23 to 27, 2022, the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions held referendums on joining the Russian Federation. According to the vote results, the majority of voters supported these regions joining Russia, with 99.23% in the Donetsk People's Republic; 98.42% in the Luhansk People's Republic; 93.11% in the Zaporozhye region and 87.05% in the Kherson region. On October 30, 2022, Russian President Putin signed a federal constitutional law accepting the new regions joining Russia as federal subjects. The Donetsk People's Republic, the Luhansk People's Republic, the Zaporozhye region, and the Kherson region joined Russia.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846288729413643/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.