MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin on Sunday said Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky wants to buy time by expressing readiness for talks while also seeking help from NATO.

Volodin was reacting to Zelensky’s statement that Ukraine is ready to discuss abandoning its bid to join NATO and the status of Crimea with Russia, but not until Moscow halts hostilities and withdraws its troops.

"He said the same before the talks in Turkey when our troops were near Kiev," Volodin said on Telegram. "Russia reduced activity in that area and pulled out troops. And then there were the Bucha staging and other provocations. "Kiev then "gave up the commitments it had accepted."

"The same scenario is on the table again," the speaker said. "The reason is obvious.

Volodin said Zelensky should pull troops from the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics and make some other decisions if he cares about the people of his country. The Duma speaker said the Ukrainian armed forces already lost 23,367 people while 1,464 people surrendered in Mariupol as of yesterday and another 2,500 are blocked at the city’s Azovstal plant.

"If Zelensky cares about the people of Ukraine, he should immediately make the following decisions," Volodin said. "First, pull troops from the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics. Second, put it down in an agreement that Ukraine commits to recognize Crimea and adopt a non-bloc status and de-Nazify and demilitarize the country."

"There can be no other way about it," the speaker said.