Lavrov: Zelensky’s letter shows Ukraine won’t negotiate

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s open letter to Vladimir Putin indicates Kyiv’s refusal to negotiate with Russia.

Lavrov made the comments during a press conference following talks with Bangladesh’s foreign minister, News.Az reports, citing UAWire.

According to Lavrov, the Kremlin viewed Zelensky’s letter as a sign that Ukraine has no interest in the negotiation process.

“The president saw the letter more as an indication that Ukraine does not need talks,” Lavrov said.

He also pointed to Putin’s own comments regarding the possibility of resuming negotiations with Ukraine.

Lavrov criticized the public format chosen by Zelensky for his message.

“Zelensky's letter was addressed to President Putin, but for some reason it was distributed around the world. That’s probably not how polite people behave,” the Russian foreign minister said.

Zelensky has previously explained that he chose to publish the letter openly because he could not be sure a private message would be delivered to the Russian leadership. That, he said, was why he made it public.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli