President Volodymyr Zelensky “will never go to Moscow” to negotiate for peace in the Donbas, according to Leonid Kravchuk, head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group and former president.
“If Putin wants a global negotiation of the Ukrainian-Russian relations, it can take place only in a neutral country,” Kravchuk said during an interview to Channel 4 on April 23.
Kravchuk’s comment was a response to a recent invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed to Zelensky to visit Moscow at “any convenient time” to discuss the conflict in the Donbas.
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Putin’s invitation, in its turn, was a response to Zelensky’s suggestion to meet with Putin in the Donbas.
“It is not too late to stop the deadly math of future casualties,” Zelensky said on April 20 as Russia has concentrated unprecedented military power along Ukrainian borders and in Crimea.
According to Ukraine Defense Minister Andriy Taran, around 110,000 Russian troops stood on Ukraine’s border in 56 battalion-sized tactical groups.
While the Kremlin assured that this was planned military training and announced the withdrawal of military forces from areas bordering Ukraine, Kravchuk said Ukraine needs to stay alert.
“We never have to relax when we have such a neighbor,” said Kravchuk, 87. “You can never trust Russia. You need to listen, analyze it, and know that this is not a country that adheres to international law.”
Kravchuk suggested that the Kremlin’s desire to show that Russia can be the country that “dictates the world order” was behind Russia’s latest moves.
The ex-president added that he observes that the world reacts very actively to the military threat which comes from Russia, including with sanctions.
“I have not seen such a synchronous attitude from the U.S. and Europe to Russia’s actions since Ukraine gained its independence (in 1991),” he said.
In this way, he added, the international community is trying to stop the aggressor state, which “destroys the global foundations of democracy, freedom, sovereignty, and independence.”
“Russia acts not only in Ukraine, but in other countries like an elephant in a china shop’,” said Kravchuk.
