Zelensky called the referendums in Ukraine the reason for the refusal of negotiations

Ukraine will stop negotiations with Russia if referendums are held in the territories occupied by the Russian army, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message on Sunday evening.

Since the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, the delegations of the parties have held several rounds of negotiations in person and online. The last direct communication between the parties took place at the end of March in Istanbul. Following the meeting, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the decision to “dramatically reduce military activity in the Kiev and Chernigov directions,” and the head of the Russian group of negotiators, Vladimir Medinsky, announced that he had received written proposals from Kyiv on a political settlement of the conflict.

But in mid-May, the peace talks stalled. The Ukrainian side explained that its attitude to the negotiations had changed after the events in Bucha. Journalists from Reuters and other publications reported on the dead civilians found there. The Ministry of Defense characterized such statements as staged and provocative.

At the end of July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that Russia did not refuse negotiations with Ukraine. In turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba stated that negotiations are possible only after the victory of Kyiv on the battlefield.

Zelensky has previously repeatedly spoken about Ukraine’s withdrawal from the negotiation process if Russia organizes referendums in the territories occupied by Russian troops. The pro-Russian authorities of the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions have repeatedly spoken about referendums on joining Russia. The heads of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics also expressed their desire to become part of Russia. On July 28, Andrey Klishas, ​​chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, admitted that the parliament at the autumn session could consider the issue of joining “new territories” into the country.

At the same time, during a recent visit to Moscow by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, the Russian leadership confirmed its readiness to continue negotiations with Kyiv. “Russia was and remains ready to solve the Ukrainian problem through diplomacy on its own terms,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on August 3.