Putin accuses Ukraine of not ‘seizing the opportunity’ for talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of not “seizing the opportunity” for talks he wants to impose on Belarus, the country from where Russia launched part of its invasion of Ukraine.

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“The Russian delegation is in the Belarusian city of Gomel and is ready to negotiate with representatives from Kyiv; these, showing inconsistency, have not seized this opportunity so far,” Putin said in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, according to a Kremlin statement.

According to the Kremlin, Naftali Bennett “proposed Israeli mediation in order to suspend hostilities”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday rejected Russia’s offer for talks in Gomel, Belarus, as the country serves as a rear base for invading Ukraine, saying “any other city” outside Belarus would be fine.

Already on Friday, Russia had said it wanted to negotiate with the Ukrainians, but only in Belarus.

When his services spoke of talks on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin had called on the Ukrainian army to stage a coup and called the country’s authorities a “clique of drug addicts and neo-Nazis”.


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