Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky has formally declared negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin “impossible”.
He signed a decree on this, but still left the door open for talks with Russia.
‘Ready for dialogue, but with a different president’
The decree confirms Zelensky’s statements last Friday, when Putin held a ceremony for the annexation of Ukraine’s Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Zelensky then said he did not want to negotiate with the Russians as long as Putin is in power. “We are ready for dialogue with Russia, but with another president,” he said.
NATO membership
Zelensky announced that same day that he had applied for accelerated membership of NATO. Putin does not want neighboring Ukraine to join the military alliance. In negotiations shortly after the outbreak of the war, Russia demanded that Ukraine assume neutral status and not join NATO.