Ukraine is ready for any format of negotiations with Russia to establish peace, but despite public statements, the Russian side does not show willingness to have a real conversation. President Volodymyr Zelensky said this during a conversation with media representatives in Mariupol, according to the official website of the President of Ukraine.
"As soon as Russia says publicly that it is ready to talk about de-escalation, ready to talk about bilateral relations, every time after that we make a request to Russia to have this meeting in some format or another. But apart from the public position, in reality they are not ready to communicate with us, they don't want to," said the head of state.
Volodymyr Zelensky once again stressed that Ukraine is ready to talk. "I am ready for any format," he said.
The head of state also explained that Ukraine, as a responsible country, submitted official requests and tried to contact Russian President Vladimir Putin when the risks of escalation on the Ukrainian borders due to the concentration of Russian troops increased.
"Ukraine is not left unanswered, but this response does not lead to a meeting. No one confirms the phone conversation either," he noted.
Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine is also interested in the initiatives of other countries offering to help organize a meeting with the Russian side.
"We are interested. I have not turned down any of those countries that have offered us. Moreover - we ourselves offered these or those countries. We were interested in different formats of conversation with the Russian Federation," the head of state noted.
