Klimkin asks Zelensky to refuse a meeting with Putin: “He has all the trump cards in his hands”
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky should not meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, because he will not be able to emerge victorious from this meeting.
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavel Klimkin stated this on the Espresso TV channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to Klimkin, Russia benefits from the crisis in the energy market, so Putin will be tough to talk to Zelensky.
“Putin will consistently play to destabilize internally. Look what is happening with our energy sector. We are not yet on the verge of collapse, but we are moving towards it. And most importantly, even if we get through this season with crazy coal prices of $300, crazy gas prices, and a total mess in the energy sector, then we definitely won’t get through the next season under the same conditions. This is school arithmetic. This is what Putin is playing for, he is raising the stakes, he is preparing, he will strengthen his component in Belarus in such a way as to semi-surround us and be ready to act at any moment,” the ex-minister said.
“We must understand that Putin is preparing to attack Ukraine. He does not agree with the existence of a separate Ukrainian statehood, he always speaks about this sincerely and this should not be perceived as some kind of conscious Russian propaganda,” the diplomat added.
“I am very scared of a possible meeting where Putin will talk harshly. They will talk harshly about energy, they will talk harshly about gas, and they will talk harshly about diesel fuel. And our agriculture and, ultimately, the army depend on it. It will be harsh to talk about coal. He now has in his hands, excuse the card terminology, a lot of trump cards. And meeting in today’s situation is only possible if the country knows our position well, that there are no things under the table, and when we have secured the support of our partners,” Klimkin said.
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