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Zelenskyy urged Russia to commit to talks by September 1 as he sought security guarantees from US and European leaders.
Ukraine President Zelenskyy (Image Credit: AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Russia to show “genuine willingness” to engage in a bilateral meeting on ending the war by September 1, warning that Kyiv expects a clear response from its partners if Moscow fails to act.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine and its allies had agreed to give Russia until the deadline to demonstrate readiness for direct talks. He also called for negotiations on security guarantees for Ukraine to be moved urgently to the level of national leaders, saying that US President Donald Trump should be involved.
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“There is a build-up and concentration of the enemy there. Up to 100,000 – that’s what we have as of this morning. They are preparing offensive actions in any case,” Zelenskyy said, referring to Russian troop deployments near the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk, which Moscow claims as its territory.
The Ukrainian president added that he would continue discussions with European leaders next week on what he described as “NATO-like commitments.”
He stressed that any security guarantees must be legally binding and ratified by parliaments, saying, “We don’t want another Budapest Memorandum.”
What Russia Has Said On Ukraine Peace Talks?
Russia said on Friday that Western proposals on security guarantees for Ukraine would increase the risk of conflict between Moscow and the West by turning Kyiv into a “strategic provocateur” on Russia’s borders.
“Security guarantees must be based on reaching a common understanding that takes into account Russia’s security interests,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, adding that the current proposals were “one-sided and are clearly designed to contain Russia.”
“This line (of proposals) violates the principle of indivisible security and assigns Kyiv the role of a strategic provocateur on Russia’s borders, increasing the risk of the (NATO) alliance becoming involved in an armed conflict with our country,” she affirmed.
Moscow previously said it does not like the European proposals and will not accept any presence of NATO troops on Ukrainian territory.
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Ukraine
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