Germany and France urge Putin to meet Zelenskyy to end war

Europe, News May 30, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

EU leaders call for ceasefire in Ukraine and ask Putin to hold direct talks with Zelenskyy

German and French leaders urged Russian President Vladimir Putin for a ceasefire and to hold direct talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as the war nears the 100-day mark.

President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke via phone with Russian President Putin on May 28. They emphasized that Moscow and Kyiv should negotiate a solution to the war with due respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Leaders of Germany and France “reiterated their insistent request for a ceasefire and called upon President Putin to agree to direct dialogue with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the earliest possible opportunity.”

The European leaders also pressed Putin to release roughly “2,500 defenders of Azovstal held as prisoners of war by Russian forces,” according to a press release from the French embassy. Azovstal was the final holdout of Ukrainian defense forces before Russia seized the port city of Mariupol.

President Macron and Chancellor Scholz also stressed the urgent need for the blockade of Odesa to be lifted to allow the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea and thus avert a global food crisis.

Russia open to renewing dialogue

President Putin confirmed that the Russian side is “open to renewing dialogue with Kyiv,” but blamed Ukraine for the current impasse in the peace talks, the Kremlin said. Putin also said that Western weapons deliveries could lead to “a further destabilization of the situation,” and he renewed his demand that the West lifts sanctions on Russia to facilitate the export of grain and fertilizer amid global concern about food shortages.

*^{President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses Davos 2022. (Image Credit: World Economic Forum)}*

Zelenskyy willing to meet Putin to end the war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier said that President Vladimir Putin was the only Russian official he was willing to meet with to discuss how to end the war.

“If we are talking about ending this war without him personally, that decision cannot be taken,” Zelenskyy said in a video address at the World Economic Forum in Davos.