LVIV, Ukraine - Ukraine is prepared to declare its neutrality and consider a compromise on contested areas in the country’s east, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of another round of talks set for Tuesday on stopping the fighting.
But he said only a face-to-face meeting with Russia's leader can end the war. While hinting at possible concessions, Zelenskyy also stressed that Ukraine's priority is ensuring its sovereignty and its "territorial integrity" — preventing Russia from carving up the country, something Ukraine and the West say could now be Moscow's goal.Russia has long demanded that Ukraine drop any hope of joining the Western NATO alliance, which Moscow sees as a threat.
Zelenskyy has also repeatedly stressed that Ukraine needs security guarantees of its own as part of any deal."Security guarantees and neutrality, non-nuclear status of our state — we are ready to go for it," Zelenskyy said in an interview Sunday with independent Russian media outlets.The Ukrainian leader has suggested as much before, but rarely so forcefully, and the latest remarks could create momentum for the talks scheduled to take place in Istanbul."We must come to an agreement with the president of the Russian Federation, and in order to reach an agreement, he needs to get out of there on his own feet ...
and come to meet me," Zelenskyy said in the interview, which Russia barred its media from publishing.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that the two presidents could meet, but only after the key elements of a potential deal are negotiated."The meeting is necessary once we have clarity regarding solutions on all key issues," Lavrov said in an interview with Serbian media.