Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak on Friday described attempts to hold peace negotiations with Russia as a death sentence for Ukraine
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th August, 2022) Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak on Friday described attempts to hold peace negotiations with Russia as a death sentence for Ukraine.
"(Ukrainian) President Volodymyr Zelensky is definitely against it (negotiations), and the Ukrainian society is adamant there, because we fully appreciate the risks," Podolyak told US newspaper The Hill, describing attempts to negotiate with Moscow as a "death sentence" for Ukraine.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. In response, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and ramped up lethal weapons deliveries to Kiev.
Turkey has emerged as the lead mediator between Russia and Ukraine, hosting several rounds of negotiations since Russia launched the operation. Talks hit a roadblock after Zelenskyy said Russian troops must give up the territories under their control.
In July, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said that the Ukrainian negotiation delegation did not maintain any contacts with Russia after inking the grain deal in Istanbul, and that if the Russian-Ukrainian talks take place, the conditions for them would be completely different.
