16 June 2023, Friday, 23:59 431

Zelenskyy Responds To African Leaders, Under Which Conditions Peace Talks With Russia Are Possible

Editor: Tetiana Herasimova

Читати українською

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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that peace talks with the aggressor state of the Russian Federation are possible only after the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied territories.

He said this at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday after negotiations with a delegation of leaders of the African Union, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

"Today, I clearly said repeatedly at our meeting: to allow any negotiations with Russia now that the occupier is on our land - this means freezing the war, freezing the pain and suffering," Zelenskyy said.

According to him, now the aggressor state is trying to return to the "old tactics of deception," but Ukraine needs "real peace":

"Russia has long tried to deceive everyone with “Minsk.” Obviously, Russia is now trying to return to its old primitive deception tactics. But it will not work to deceive the world in Russia. It is definitely impossible to deceive Ukraine. I will emphasize once again: we need real peace, and therefore - a real withdrawal of Russian troops from all our independent land. "

Zelenskyy also "presented to the meeting the results of our efforts within the framework of two export initiatives - the Black Sea Grain and Humanitarian Initiative Grain from Ukraine. We really help the world and many peoples of Africa, Asia, Europe to maintain social stability and price predictability in the food market thanks to our exports. Together with partners we are working on grain hubs in Africa. "

"The supply of food must be reliably guaranteed and everyone's right to food must be ensured by stopping any attempts by states such as Russia to use the threat of hunger and social instability to blackmail the people. He appealed to the participants of the meeting with a proposal to provide his vision of how we together can do even more for food security and the creation of grain hubs," the President of Ukraine said.

Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine is ready to significantly expand educational programs for students, in particular in the countries of the African continent.

"But, of course, first of all, we must restore the full force of the UN Charter. Principles of the UN Charter. And stop this brutal Russian aggression and liberate our land, our people from Russian evil," he added.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, African leaders can propose a number of "confidence-building measures" to encourage the aggressor state of Russia and Ukraine to agree to a diplomatic process of negotiations.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that missile attacks on Kyiv during the visit of African leaders are a signal from Russian dictator Vladimir Putin that the aggressor country wants more war, not peace.