The Office of the President of Ukraine has commented on the Kremlin's resonant statements regarding Vladimir Putin's readiness for a telephone conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to Presidential Communications Advisor Dmytro Lytvyn, a mere phone call between the two leaders is not enough to reach agreements on ending the war. As RBC-Ukraine reports, Lytvyn emphasized that key issues require not formal contact, but a full-fledged meeting with guarantees and concrete agreements.
'Just a Call' Cannot Replace Agreements
Answering a question about the possibility of a phone call between Zelenskyy and Putin, Lytvyn recalled that this is not the first time the Russian side has talked about a call or a meeting in Moscow. According to him, Kyiv assesses such rhetoric as an attempt to steer negotiations away from a trilateral format at the leadership level. 'It is logical that key issues should be resolved at the level of leaders, but this is specifically a meeting and corresponding talks, an agreement, and guarantees, which is obviously difficult to implement when it is just a call,' the presidential advisor stated.
Moscow Proposes Bilateral Contact
Earlier, the Kremlin stated that Vladimir Putin is ready to speak by phone with the President of Ukraine, but 'no one has called yet.' Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov added that Zelenskyy could come to Moscow to meet with the Kremlin leader, where, according to him, 'all conditions will be provided, including in terms of security.' Thus, the Russian side is essentially proposing a bilateral format without the participation of third parties.
Kyiv Rejects the Moscow Scenario
In Kyiv, such proposals are viewed as an attempt to change the format and venue of negotiations. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, responding to Moscow's statements, noted that such proposals should not be taken seriously. The Presidential Office, in turn, insists that if it is a matter of ending the war, what is needed is not symbolic contacts, but a meeting of leaders with real agreements and guarantees that cannot be provided within a telephone conversation.
Context: Dispute Over Format Continues
The positions of the parties regarding the format of contacts at the leadership level remain divergent: Moscow emphasizes its readiness for a bilateral talk and an invitation to Moscow, while Kyiv points to the insufficiency of such a format and the necessity of trilateral agreements with guarantees. Against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict, the question of in what format and with what mediation the leaders' negotiations might take place remains one of the key issues on the diplomatic track.
