Zelensky reiterated that he is ready to discuss territorial issues only with Putin

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated a point he has made before: he is willing to discuss issues of territorial control only with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

He made the remarks in an interview with the Czech radio station Prague International.

According to Zelenskyy, “territorial issues cannot be resolved by technical teams alone.”

“Without direct contact at the level of leaders, it will be impossible to reach an agreement on territorial issues,” the Ukrainian president said.

As a reminder, the territorial question will be the key topic at talks in the United Arab Emirates on February 1, where Ukrainian and Russian delegations are set to meet. In other words, Zelenskyy is making it clear in advance that no agreements on territorial control will be reached in Abu Dhabi tomorrow.

As media outlets have reported, Zelenskyy has recently begun raising again the topic of a meeting with Putin.

At the same time, the Kremlin has effectively refused to meet, instead inviting Zelenskyy to Moscow.

The Ukrainian president rejected that possibility and, in turn, invited Putin to Kyiv:

“I publicly invite him—if he decides to, of course. But if someone doesn’t want to meet yet can’t afford to say so openly for some reason, then we hear these invitations to Moscow,” the Ukrainian president said.