Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Vatican would be the best place to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. He spoke about this in an interview with the newspaper La Repubblica, which was published on Tuesday, April 27.
“The Holy See could be an ideal place for a dialogue about peace in Donbass,” Zelensky said.
According to the Ukrainian president, the meeting with Putin “will definitely take place”, as it is necessary in order to “stop the war in Donbass and complete the peace process.”
The President of Ukraine also clarified that, according to him, the Holy See is a global moral authority, which acts as a mediator, as it is impartial, added Gazeta.ru.
Earlier, on April 20, Zelensky, in a video message, offered to meet with Putin “anywhere” in Donbass. According to him, the different views of Kiev and Moscow on the past and the future can be viewed not as a problem, but as an opportunity.
On April 22, Putin responded to Zelensky’s proposal, specifying that if Kiev wants to restore relations, Moscow will only welcome it. The President of Russia noted that in order to develop Russian-Ukrainian relations, the Russian Federation will receive Zelensky in Moscow at any time convenient for him.
At the same time, Putin stressed that if Zelensky intends to discuss Donbass, then he would better turn to representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, and not to third countries.
On April 26, the Ukrainian leader emphasized that it does not matter to him exactly where he meets with Putin, while “the essence of the meeting is important, but where it will be, these are the details.”
On April 27, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said that Putin can only discuss with Zelensky the problems of bilateral relations, and not the conflict in eastern Ukraine. He recalled that Russia is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict.
At the same time, on the same day, Peskov said that there were no specific agreements on probable negotiations between Zelensky and Putin.