Any meeting between Putin and Zelensky it can only take place after the end of the clashes in Donbass, a region east of Ukraine. The Ukrainian president, Volodymir Zelensky, suggests it in an interview with the AP, and his adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, says so clearly.
Negotiations and Putin-Zelensky meeting
“The stronger our position in Mariupol, the stronger our position in the east of the country, the stronger our opposition in operations. AND if we are stronger, the negotiating table gets closer. And we will obtain advantages in the dialogue with the Russian Federation”. This is what Zelensky declared this morning.
The Ukrainian president admitted: “No one wants to negotiate with a person or people who have tortured our nation. This is understandable. As a man, as a father, I understand that very well, but we don't want to miss out on opportunities, if we have them, to a diplomatic solution”, he added.
“Ukraine is ready for big battles, it must win them, especially in the Donbass. And then we will have a more solid negotiating position that will allow us to dictate certain conditions. Then the presidents will meet. It could take two or three weeks,” said presidential adviser Podolyak, quoted by CNN.
Meanwhile in Brussels met the military committee of the EU to discuss the moves to be taken in the coming weeks. “After yesterday's meetings in Kiev with President Zelensky and Prime Minister Shmyhal, today I convened a joint session of the EU Military Committee and the Political and Security Committee to discuss military support for Ukraine at a time when cope with the imminent attacks in the Donbass and in the south,” EU High Representative Josep Borrell tweeted.
UNHCR: 4,5 million people have left Ukraine
Updates on civilians come from the UN refugee agency, according to which the number of people who have left Ukraine since the beginning of the war has reached 4,5 million people. About 2,6 million of these fled at least initially to Poland and more than 686.000 to Romania. However, UNHCR notes that there are very few border controls within the European Union and believes that "large numbers of people" have moved leaving the first country of arrival.
