Ukraine will not accept "Russian ultimatums" and will not withdraw troops from the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, Volodymyr Zelensky said after a conversation with US leader Donald Trump, TSN reports. The leaders phoned after the latter's telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Zelensky added that Ukraine is not going to abandon its intention to join NATO and proclaim its neutral status.
As Bloomberg wrote, at the first direct talks between the delegations of Moscow and Kiev in Istanbul on May 16 in three years, the Russian side put forward "tough demands", including the neutral status of Ukraine and recognition for Russia of Crimea, DNR, LNR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. Also, according to the agency, Moscow expressed its readiness to agree to a ceasefire if Ukraine withdraws its troops from the last four regions.
These conditions coincide with those that Russia has been putting forward publicly for about a year.
Crimea became part of Russia following the results of the referendum in 2014, the Republic of Donbass, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions — in 2022. Western countries and Ukraine did not recognize the results of the vote, Kiev considers the territories its own.
Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff called the status of the Russian-controlled regions a key problem in resolving the conflict on Ukraine.