President Volodymyr Zelensky said productive peace talks are impossible without Ukraine. He stressed he does not want “us to be on the ‘menu’ for Putin” among other issues on the international agenda.
The head of state stated this during an online press conference, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
Commenting on the question of how the president feels about the attempts of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in negotiations with the American side to include the war with Ukraine in a wider range of issues, such as problems in the Middle East, Zelensky replied:
“A wider range of issues is there in order to exclude Ukraine from the process as much as possible. Indeed, the parties have a wide range of topics, and this is understandable. The United States is an independent country (…), they can discuss anything. It seems to me that these are their bilateral relations, although, of course, they also have an impact on our situation, primarily on the war in Ukraine. And that is why I wouldn’t like to… I spoke about this absolutely frankly to the American side. With all due respect, I don’t want to offend anyone, but I don’t want us to be on the ‘menu’ for Putin. You know, we are not salad or juice for that person, despite his appetite.”
The president reiterated the fact that Ukraine is an independent country.
“Therefore, it is wrong to negotiate something about us without us because there will be no desired result for anyone,” the head of state said.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump had a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The conversation lasted more than an hour and a half.
The Donald Trump administration said the Russian side had agreed to a limited ceasefire, implying that no energy and infrastructure facilities will be hit as part of an initiative proposed by the United States to establish peace in Ukraine.
Source: Zelensky: Ukraine neither salad nor juice to be offered on “menu” for Putin
