The positions of the two sides on negotiations between the delegations of Ukraine and Russia sound more realistic now, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a recorded message to his fellow citizens.
However, he warned that it would take time for Kiev’s demands to be met.
“We all want peace and victory as soon as possible,” he said, “but it will take effort and patience.”
“Every war ends with an agreement,” Zelensky continued, assuring that negotiations “will continue.”
Ukrainian and Russian negotiators discussed via video link Monday and Tuesday. Adviser to the Ukrainian presidency Mikhail Pontoliak said last night that the talks would continue today.
Kyiv demands an end to the war and the withdrawal of Russian troops. For its part, Moscow is urging Kyiv to recognize that the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014, is Russian, and also to recognize the self-proclaimed Donbass People’s Democracies as independent state entities.
Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated that what he called Russia’s aggressive war would bring shame, misery and years of isolation to Moscow.
However, he appeared to be making a concession to Moscow, implying that Kyiv does not rule out the possibility of Ukraine abandoning its bid to join NATO, something that Russia considers a casus belli.
In a Kremlin statement issued following a meeting between Vladimir Putin and European Council President Charles Michel, the Russian president said there was no indication that Kyiv was prepared to “commit to finding mutually acceptable solutions.”
In his new message, the Ukrainian president also called on world leaders to visit Kyiv to see what is happening in the region, even if it is dangerous.
“I invite all the friends of Ukraine to visit Kyiv. This can be dangerous. Because our sky is not closed yet for Russian missiles and planes. The decision to strengthen our arsenal in the air has not yet been made. We have not received any planes. But … You know for sure that the eyes of all the people of the world are now on our capital, the Ukrainians. Thus, all who are with us will receive gratitude. “Not only ours, but also other nations of the world,” Zelenski said characteristically.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said on Tuesday night that an international “peacekeeping force” should be deployed in Ukraine, speaking at a news conference in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I think it is necessary to send a NATO peacekeeping force, if not a wider international alliance – which will be able to defend and operate on Ukrainian territory,” said the leader of Poland’s ruling party.
“This mission cannot be unarmed,” Kaczynski insisted, according to the Polish news agency PAP, shortly after the meeting between the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia with the president and prime minister. Of Ukraine.
Polish Prime Minister Matthew Morawiecki, accompanied by his Deputy Prime Minister and the Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala and Slovenia, Janes Jansa, traveled by train to Kyiv yesterday to express their support for Ukraine. They are the first foreign leaders to visit the Ukrainian capital since the Russian invasion on February 24.
After contacts with the Ukrainian leadership, Polish Prime Minister Matthew Morawiecki called on the EU to “give Ukraine the status of a candidate country as soon as possible” and stressed, addressing its Ukrainian hosts, “we will never leave you alone. We will be with you because we know that you are not only fighting for your freedom, for your own home and for your safety, but also for us “.
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