Ukraine does not give up negotiations with Russia. For this, Moscow needs to fulfill only one condition — to completely withdraw its troops from the territory of Ukraine.
Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser to the head of the Presidentʼs office, wrote about this on his Twitter.
"It is necessary to understand: Ukraine has never refused negotiations. Our negotiating position is known and open: 1. First, the Russian Federation withdraws its troops from Ukraine. 2. Then everything else," he noted.
But Podolyak emphasized that Putin would never do that. Therefore, the Ukrainian authorities understand that negotiations will be held with the next Russian leader.
- The administration of US President Joe Biden is informally asking President Volodymyr Zelensky to demonstrate readiness for negotiations with Russia. They say that this will allow maintaining support from other countries.
- Citing sources, The Wall Street Journal reports that US President National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has been in talks with Putinʼs aide Ushakov and Secretary of the Russian Security Council Patrushev in recent months. Sullivan did this to reduce the risk of escalation and keep the lines of communication open. They did not discuss the settlement of the war.
- The Italian edition of La Repubblica, citing sources, says that the US and NATO assume that Ukraine can start negotiations with Russia from a position of strength after the Ukrainian army liberates Kherson. According to the publication, the USA has conveyed such a message to the European Union and is instilling this opinion in the Ukrainian authorities.
- In early October, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, approved the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on the impossibility of holding negotiations with the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin.