Ukrainian President: Kyiv prepares for dialogue with residents of Donbas
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Ukrainian authorities are ready for a dialogue with the residents of the so-called Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, as well as with those who left the territories of the Donbas which are not under Kyiv’s control, reported the President 's press service with reference to his speech at the Munich Security Conference.
According to Zelensky, Ukraine has initiated the creation of a dialogue platform "Peace of Donbass" in which both civilians of LPR, DPR and those who were forced to leave the Donbas will be able to take part.
The Ukrainian President stressed that there can be no question of negotiations with those who have not been recognized from the point of view of international law, and therefore cannot represent the local population.
"I have communicated many times with ordinary people from the temporarily occupied territories. And objectively the voice of Donbas is not only their opinion. There are at least one and a half million Donetsk and Luhansk residents who were forced to leave their homes," he said.