Zelensky: Merkel’s and Macron’s proposal for direct talks with Putin is unfair to Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that the proposal of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron for direct negotiations with Vladimir Putin is unfair towards Ukraine.
In an interview with the Lithuanian publication LRT, Zelensky said that he believes that a personal meeting between the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the President of the United States, Joe Biden, is "their right." According to Zelensky, these are large countries, which have a lot of unanswered questions in their relations.
The Ukrainian President believes that inviting Putin to direct talks with the European Union is not a betrayal, because the meeting will not happen. However, according to Zelensky, such proposals from Macron and Merkel are unfair towards Ukraine.
The Ukrainian President explained that any direct negotiations between the European Union and Russia would mean that cost of any war "is only seven years", after that, it is possible to live again as before and sit down at the negotiating table.
On June 24, Angela Merkel, speaking at the Bundestag, said that the European Union should "seek direct contacts with Russia and the Russian president." This proposal was supported by the leaders of France and Austria Emmanuel Macron and Sebastian Kurz.