MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th January, 2023) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long ago ceased to be a potential adversary for Russian President Vladimir Putin, as he failed to fulfill the Minsk agreements obligations and was preparing for a war instead, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
"We are aware with what promises Zelenskyy was elected president. It is quite easy to remember them and remind those who voted for him in Ukraine. He did not solve the Donbas issue, he did not fulfill the Minsk agreements, and moreover, it turned out that he was not going to implement them, as he was preparing for a war. Therefore, let us say, he has long ago ceased to be a possible adversary for President Putin," Peskov told reporters.
Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy said that he was "not interested" in holding a meeting and negotiations with the Russian president.
In November 2022, Zelenskyy said that Kiev did not want to sign a new "Minsk-3," a third package of the Minsk agreements intended to de-escalate the situation in Donbas negotiated from 2014-2015. The second package of these agreements was signed within the so-called Normandy format, involving France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of violating the deal. Peskov, commenting on Zelenskyy's statement, has said that his words "absolutely confirm" Kiev's unwillingness to negotiate.
