“We will not allow a frozen conflict. I became president when there were ‘Minsk-1’, ‘Minsk-2’, there were relevant documents that were considered, so I can say that they were not serious documents. There was an agreement on paper, it was “I am against, we will definitely not have such a document,” Zelensky said of the Minsk format agreement reached after 2014 to settle relations between Ukraine and Russia.
He added that Ukraine had not violated the Minsk agreement and had not withdrawn from the negotiation process.
“We have not withdrawn from the Minsk process so far, the Russian leader withdrew from it on 24 February, said it publicly and launched a ‘military operation’, although we understand that it is a war, a comprehensive attack. That is why they withdrew, and Ukraine will definitely not get into the diplomatic swamp, “stressed the President of Ukraine.
Zelensky has made two demands on Russia: to return to the borders that existed until February 24 and to return the illegally occupied Crimean peninsula to Ukraine.
In a video speech, Zelensky also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin should take a public ceasefire, but that Russia’s desire to stop fighting has not yet been felt.
The Ukrainian president said that Ukrainian forces had been violating the ceasefire agreement for several years at the Donbass contact line, and that even if there was an agreement on a ceasefire to bring civilians to safety, the shooting and bombing continued.
Zelensky expressed confidence that the ceasefire would take place only when he had the opportunity to meet with the President of Russia.
“If there is a meeting with President Putin, there will be a ceasefire in the meantime. Otherwise, the meeting will not take place. And then we will probably agree in person. He must take personal responsibility for the ceasefire. And preferably in public,” said the President of Ukraine.
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