Russia Admits Their Memo Serves As Ultimatum Ukraine Never To Accept - Zelensky

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in an interview with Válasz Online , Ukrinform reports.

According to the head of state, Moscow's tactics are aimed at weakening the positions of Ukraine's Western partners toward Russia and dragging the negotiation process.

"They are professionals at this: they are absolute world champions in lying. In diplomatic terms, they are manipulators. Those with whom our delegation is negotiating are also like this. It would therefore be good if the mediating countries did not focus on what they could lose from sanctions – what economic disadvantages they would face, or what would happen to space cooperation and satellite communications – but concentrated on what the negotiations are about: the war. On the fact that people are dying. The rest can be discussed in bilateral talks,” Zelensky said.

Read also: Too early to talk of next round of talks in Istanbul - MFA Ukraine

Regarding possible compromises, the president emphasized that the Ukrainian delegation has a mandate only for humanitarian issues, such as exchanging prisoners of war, bringing back abducted children, and achieving ceasefire. Therefore, discussing sovereignty and territorial integrity is outside their mandate.

“Our memorandum is the basis for negotiations. Based on this, our delegation has a mandate to discuss humanitarian issues-the issue of prisoners of war and abducted children-or a ceasefire. However, they do not have a mandate to discuss Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is our own constitutional matter. It is my job to hold talks on territories – and Putin's, who seized them. I will not discuss my position on this with anyone else,” he said.

Read also: Sybiha: Time to impose devastating sanctions as Russia ignores Ukraine's peace proposals

Zelensky reiterated Ukraine's non-recognition of the currently occupied territories as Russian.“We have also said repeatedly that if we receive adequate security guarantees preventing Putin from continuing the war, then we will have time to decide on territorial issues. By diplomatic means, not with weapons,” he added.

According to Zelensky, Ukraine seeks to end the war, but this requires the will of both parties.“If the other party is not ready for this, it will always come up with something,” Zelensky added.

“They even told our delegation: we know that our memorandum is an ultimatum, and you will not accept it. Thus, the question is not the quality of the Istanbul format, but what to do about the Russians' lies. That is why we need strong mediators: so that Russians cannot back out of the agreements reached in the negotiations," the president noted.

He added that the United States does not yet appear as a strong mediator. "The Russians told them not to be at the table, and they simply walked away. Why? Because of their soft policy towards Russia," the head of state concluded.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the second round of negotiations between the delegations of Ukraine and the Russian Federation took place in Istanbul on June 2. Their first meeting took place on May 16. Then, an agreement was reached on the exchange of prisoners of war in the "1,000 for 1,000" format.

At the negotiations in Istanbul, the Ukrainian delegation handed over to the Russian side a list of Ukrainian children who had been removed from Ukraine by Russia and whom Ukraine demands that Russia return.

The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, said the Russian delegation had handed over“their document” to Ukraine. The Ukrainian team has a week to look into it.

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