Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said French leader Emmanuel Macron was wasting his time with the dialogue with Russia, Reuters reported.
The Ukrainian head of state said this in an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, asked to comment on Macron’s words that Russia must be defeated but not completely defeated and that the conflict in Ukraine must be settled through negotiations.
The two presidents spoke by phone on Sunday.
“Dialogue is useless. Macron is wasting his time. I have come to the conclusion that it is not in our power to change Russia’s position,” Zelensky told the Italian daily.
“If they have decided to isolate themselves, dreaming of rebuilding the old Soviet empire, there is nothing we can do. It is their business whether or not they choose to cooperate with the international community on the basis of mutual respect.”
Zelensky rejected the notion that Western sanctions had pushed Russian President Vladimir Putin into isolation.
“On the contrary, it was the decision to start the war that marginalized Putin.” the Ukrainian president was quoted as saying.
Zelensky added that Ukraine will continue to defend the city of Bakhmut, which has been fiercely fought for for months, as long as it makes sense.
“Yes, this is a particularly large city. After all, like many other cities in Donbas, it was destroyed by the Russians. It is important for us to defend it, but not at any cost and not so that all (defenders) in it die.” , said the Ukrainian president, quoted by BTA.
According to him, after Bakhmut, the Russian commanders want to advance further west in the Donetsk region towards Kramatorsk and Slavyansk, and then, if they can, reach the city of Dnipro in central Ukraine.
“We will resist and in the meantime we will prepare for another counterattack,” Zelensky said.
A possible supply of weapons from Beijing to Moscow would become a “red line” for the EU
A possible supply of weapons from China to Russia in support of its offensive in Ukraine would be a “red line” for the European Union, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, warned today in Brussels, quoted by France Press.
Borrell explained that he pointed out to China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, that “that would be a red line.”
“He told me that they were not going to do it, that they had no intention of doing it, but we will remain vigilant,” the EU’s top diplomat said on his arrival for a meeting with the foreign ministers of the EU countries.
If China decides to supply weapons to Russia, “of course there will be consequences”, commented Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU.
His Luxembourg counterpart Jean Asselborn expressed hope that China “will not make this mistake”.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned yesterday that China plans to supply weapons to Russia.
The US is not in a position to make demands on China, the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said today, quoted by Reuters.
“We do not accept pressure or coercion,” Wang Wenbin said at a regular news conference after being asked about US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warning China against helping Russia in the Ukraine war.
China also said it would never accept the US pointing fingers at Sino-Russian relations. The spokesman accused Washington of “spreading false information.”
