Ukrainians want Zelensky to find common ground with Putin, says top diplomat

World November 12, 2019, 12:38

Foreign Minister Vadim Pristaiko noted that Ukrainians who elected Zelensky as president "demand that he make an attempt to come to terms with the Russian leader...and he is doing that now"

KIEV, November 12. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is trying to establish cooperation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadim Pristaiko told ICTV television.

"Every Ukrainian head of state makes an honest attempt not exactly to come to terms with Putin, but to find some kind of opportunity to interact, to build relationship so that people don’t die, so that our trade at least doesn’t die," the minister said.

He noted that Ukrainians who elected Zelensky as president "demand that he make an attempt to come to terms with the Russian leader." "He is doing that now, we can see that now," he stressed.

According to Pristaiko, Ukraine has already met the requirements for holding the next Normandy Four summit, which are "rather painful for society." "Let’s sit down and try to find common ground. I believe this is the crucial point in our history, without exaggeration," he concluded.

On Tuesday, Kazakhstan’s first President Nursultan Nazarbayev said he had proposed to arrange a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky. According to Nazarbayev, the Ukrainian leader agreed. However, neither Zelensky himself nor his administration announced that publicly yet.

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