MOSCOW, Aug 24: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of playing games on the issue of holding bilateral talks President Vladmir Putin, claiming that it was pure theatrics on the part of Kyiv, which had no intention of coming to a settlement.
In an interview with NBC, the minister said, When Mr. Zelensky says the immediate priority is a meeting with Putin, well, it’s basically a game. A game he is very good (at playing) because he wants theatrics in everything he is doing. He does not care about substance.
As such, Moscow sees no point in engaging in talks which more than likely are headed nowhere, added the FM, as per RT.
Zelensky said no to everything He clearly stated that nobody can prohibit him from joining NATO he publicly stated that he is not going to discuss any territories.
Claiming that the issue of holding a meeting was just a farce for Zelensky to project himself as the rightful leader of Ukraine given that his presidential term has expired. Lavrov called him de facto head of the regime, adding that Moscow is ready to meet him in this capacity, after the Kremlin s initial questions regarding Zelensky s legitimacy as president.
The issue of who is going to sign the deal on the Ukrainian side is a very serious (one), he said. We would need a very clear understanding by everybody that the person who is signing is legitimate.
Both sides have made demands refused by the other. While Putin said that a settlement could only arise out of Kyiv backing out of its aspirations of joining the NATO, its total demilitarisation, and ceding territories captured by Moscow, Zelensky, in turn, has almost entirely rejected these demands.
(UNI)
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