(Moscow) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday 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. .
Posted at 7:32
“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 of Belarus would be fine.
He claimed to have spoken with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Moscow and whose territory in the country is used as a rear base by Russia.
“I spoke with Alexander Lukashenko,” said Mr. Zelensky on Facebook without further details, while Russia insists on holding possible talks in this country which is subject to it.
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 called on the Ukrainian army to stage a coup and called the country’s authorities a “clique of drug addicts and neo-Nazis”.