British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron have backed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal to hold direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv on a ceasefire.
The leaders of the countries “support the proposal for a direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia” – with the active participation of the United States and Europe in order to reach a truce and promote further negotiations, K. Starmer, F. Merz and E. Macron said on Sunday after meeting with V. Zelensky in London.
“The current contact line should be the starting point for negotiations,” the joint statement said. International borders cannot “be moved by force”.
Ukraine must also be given “firm and legally binding” security guarantees once the ceasefire comes into force. This would include the deployment of multinational forces. Russian assets should remain frozen until Russia ends its war and compensates Ukraine for war damages.
In an open letter on Thursday, V. Zelensky offered Russian President Vladimir Putin a personal meeting.
“Ukraine is ready for a complete ceasefire while the negotiations take place,” he said. Putin rejected the offer, and Zelensky then said the Kremlin master “simply doesn’t want to end” the war.
Zelensky also told Sky News that he met with Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in Kyiv to convey a message to Putna. The “main message” was allegedly that Ukraine would not give up the important industrial region of Donbass.
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