Kiev does not see the time for negotiations with Russia as yet. The speech by President Putin the day before does not bode well, said Deputy Foreign Minister Melnyk on RTL. The key to talks lies in the Kremlin. Ukraine would not refuse talks.
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk has signaled a willingness to negotiate with Moscow. “Of course we would be willing to negotiate, but at the moment it doesn’t look like it,” he said on the “RTL direct” program. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s speech “unfortunately doesn’t bode well for us”. If “Moscow is willing to hold talks, because the key to ending the war lies in the Kremlin, then we’ll be there too.” However, “the time for diplomacy has not yet come,” said the former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany.
At the same time, Melnyk denied that Ukraine had demanded the delivery of cluster munitions. “There is no requirement from the Ukrainian government to supply us with cluster munitions,” he said. “The statement made by our transport minister in Munich was interpreted as if Ukraine expected this from Germany and other countries. That is not the case.” The weapons from the allies are longer-range missiles and fighter jets. “The issue of cluster munitions is definitely not one of them.”
In the context of the Munich Security Conference, Deputy Prime Minister Olexander Kubrakow had stated that Russia uses this type of weaponry every day. “Why can’t we use them? It’s our territory,” he said. He understands the difficulties because of conventions. But this type of ammunition can help to withstand the attackers.
When asked whether friendly relations between Ukrainians and Russians were possible despite the war, he said: “Unfortunately, a very, very large majority of people in this country still support Putin’s war of annihilation. And that is the signal for us that it would be wrong to call the Russians friends. To do that, the war must first end.”
The “RTL direct” program will be broadcast at 10:15 p.m. and is also available online on RTL.
