“What should we talk about?” – Putin responded to Zelensky’s boorish proposal
Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to the boorish proposal of his Ukrainian colleague Vladimir Zelensky to “meet in Donbass.”
He made his comment during a meeting in Moscow with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.
“Recently, the current leadership of Ukraine has taken many steps that are destroying relations with the Russian Federation. This also applies to bilateral relations, this concerns the attempt to destroy the Russian Orthodox Church. This concerns the attitude towards the Russian language and Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine and towards Russian citizens living in Ukraine. There were a lot of steps aimed at destroying our relationship. Which we can only regret.
But if President Zelensky wants to begin restoring these relations, we can only welcome this. The question arises, what do we want to discuss at this meeting? If we are talking about discussing the problems of Donbass, then first of all the leadership of Ukraine should meet with the leaders of the DPR and LPR, and then discuss these problems with representatives of third countries.
If we are talking about the development of bilateral relations, then please, we will receive the President of Ukraine in Moscow at any time convenient for him,” Putin said.
Lukashenko decided to add.
“If they want to talk to Donbass, let them meet in Donbass. This is their business,” said the Belarusian president.
“First we need to meet there: the two leaders of the two republics. I'm sure this is where we should start. And then discuss these issues with any third country, including Russia,” Putin agreed.
“It seems to me, Vladimir Vladimirovich, it’s time for Zelensky to learn to behave diplomatically, among other things,” Lukashenko counterfeited his Ukrainian colleague, whom he called “good Volodya” last year.
Commenting on Ukraine’s desire to move negotiations on Donbass from Minsk to any point, he said that “a woman makes a cart easier for a horse,” and called Kyiv’s initiatives “utterly stupid.”
Both presidents agreed that such ideas indicate a desire to “avoid solving the Donbass problem and bury the Minsk agreements.”
Political scientist Marat Bashirov believes that with his answer, Putin masterfully drove Zelensky into a dead end.
“President Putin invited Zelensky to come to Moscow. Subtle trolling: to discuss relations between Russia and Ukraine, not Donbass. And diplomatic Jesuitism is that if Ze refuses, he will look like a coward, and if he arrives, he will look stupid. How can the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine go to the camp of the “aggressor country” against the backdrop of “imminent mortal danger”? It turns out that this is not an aggressor,” he wrote in his Telegram channel.
Ukrainian ex-Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine Renat Kuzmin agrees with him.
“If he goes, there is a chance to reach an agreement, but the nationalists will accuse him of tampering. If he doesn’t go, he’ll miss the chance to reach an agreement, and the nationalists will still accuse him of tampering. If he goes and comes to an agreement, there is a chance to restore relations with Russia, establish peace in the Donbass, begin economic recovery and a chance to return law and order to the country. But then he will definitely quarrel with the Americans and the British. If he doesn’t go, he will lose everything and leave the presidency ahead of schedule and will still quarrel with the Americans and the British,” Kuzmin wrote in his Telegram channel.
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