“I & nbsp; do not & nbsp; exclude a referendum on & nbsp; Donbass in & nbsp; whole. The question here is not & nbsp; in & nbsp; status. We can have this in & nbsp; life, it can be in relation to Donbass, Crimea, it can be in & nbsp; in general for & nbsp; ending the war & nbsp; & nbsp; & mdash; he said & nbsp; in & nbsp; interview to TV channel & laquo; 1 + 1 & raquo; (quoted from & nbsp; Interfax-Ukraine).
According to Zelensky, thanks to the United States, another platform for negotiations with Russia may appear. The head of state noted that there is “a very delicate surgical moment” here, which is how not to lose the “Norman format”.
“ Because, having built nothing, you & nbsp; can destroy what & nbsp; is. This is very important for & nbsp; us & nbsp; & mdash; do not & nbsp; lose, because [French President Emmanuelle] Macron is interested in & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & mdash; explained & nbsp; he.
In addition, Zelensky did not & nbsp; ruled out that & nbsp; and & nbsp; could soon conduct direct negotiations with & nbsp; Putin. “ I & nbsp; see support for this direction and & nbsp; from & nbsp; our European partners and & nbsp; USA & raquo;, & nbsp; & mdash; said the President of Ukraine.
The question of & nbsp; a possible meeting of the presidents of Russia and & nbsp; Ukraine began to be discussed this spring. Then Zelensky announced his readiness to meet with & nbsp; Putin in & nbsp; any point of the Ukrainian Donbass & quot; in order to prevent an escalation of the conflict in the & nbsp; region.
In the & nbsp; answer, Putin invited Zelensky to come to & nbsp; Moscow. On April 26 & nbsp; Zelensky said that & nbsp; was ready to hold a meeting “ anywhere '', and on & nbsp; September 1 & nbsp; his press secretary Sergei Nikiforov said that & nbsp; Kiev is ready for & nbsp; negotiations “ anytime. ''
In & nbsp; May, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that & nbsp; contacts on & nbsp; a possible meeting are being conducted with & nbsp; the participation of the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Head of State Dmitry Kozak, but & nbsp; while all this is just a “ hypothetical sketch. ''
The Kremlin argued that the organization of the meeting was hampered by the failure of Kiev to comply with the Minsk agreements and unfulfilled, from the point of view of Moscow, expectations in the democracy of Vladimir Zelensky.
On September 2, Peskov said that & nbsp; a meeting between Putin and & nbsp; Zelensky in & nbsp; this year is hardly & nbsp; is & nbsp; possible. He & nbsp; noted that & nbsp; negotiations should be well prepared. According to & nbsp; he said, the & nbsp; preparation plan has problems with & nbsp; defining topics for & nbsp; discussion. “ Vladimir Zelensky constantly insists on & nbsp; discussing Crimea, President Putin is not & nbsp; not & nbsp; not & nbsp; ready, but & nbsp; there are no substances for & nbsp; discussions & raquo;, & nbsp; & mdash; the spokesman spoke.
On September 12 & nbsp; Nikiforov said again that & nbsp; the meeting between the presidents depends on & nbsp; Russia's readiness to speak on & nbsp; the topic of Crimea. “ It is necessary that at this meeting there was a question of & nbsp; Russia's occupation of a part of the territory of Ukraine. Therefore, the conversation and & nbsp; contacts at & nbsp; some & nbsp; level are really supported about this meeting, but & nbsp; it is imperative to ensure that this most important issue is put on the & nbsp; agenda, which Russia, of course, does not & nbsp; wants & raquo;, & nbsp; & mdash ; noticed & nbsp; he.
On October 17 & nbsp; Peskov said that & nbsp; Putin finds it difficult to communicate with & nbsp; Zelensky because & nbsp; the fact that & nbsp; he & nbsp; calls Russia a party to the conflict in & nbsp; Donbass. “ How can you communicate here? It is very difficult for Putin to communicate. Putin is responsible for & nbsp; his words, he & nbsp; says what & nbsp; does, and & nbsp; does what & nbsp; says & raquo;, & nbsp; & mdash; spokesman spoke.