Zelensky Open to Direct Talks With Putin to Address Territory, Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant

January 28 ------ President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the most sensitive issues in peace negotiations, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

In an interview with European Pravda, Sybiha said that control over the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and questions of territory remain unresolved in talks to end the war. “It is precisely to resolve them that the President is ready to meet with Putin,” he remarked, though he cautioned that Russia “continues to be an obstacle” in reaching a settlement.

Last week saw the first direct Ukraine-Russia talks under the US-led peace plan, with two days of closed-door talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the US in Abu Dhabi. The third round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the US is set to continue in Abu Dhabi this week, according to sources speaking to various outlets.

Kyiv’s delegation has been led by Ruston Umerov, a veteran negotiator in talks with Moscow, alongside Presidential Office head and former intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, negotiator David Arakhamia, and Chief of the General Staff Andriy Hnatov, among others. The Russian delegation was led by Igor Kostyukov, head of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency, where it was formerly headed by Vladimir Medinsky, a close Putin aide who was said to have threatened Ukraine with indefinite fighting in direct talks in 2025.

Zelensky described the talks as “constructive,” while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that there was “significant work ahead.” “I wouldn’t say there was any friendliness there; it’s hardly possible at this stage,” Peskov added of the discussions. Sybiha said in his remarks on Tuesday that he sees no need for a separate meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. “We should not create parallel tracks,” he said. “There are negotiating teams that include representatives of the Foreign Ministry. And the creation of additional tracks is not timely; it is not necessary.”

Other questions discussed extensively in negotiations included the parameters of a ceasefire and the procedure for monitoring or verifying the ceasefire, according to the foreign minister. On how the nature of discussions in Abu Dhabi this month differs from those held in the past, Sybiha said: “The negotiations are very complex. But we can state a qualitative change in the composition of the Russian delegation.” “These are different people, and there were no more pseudo-historical lectures. The talks were very focused.”

Source: kyivpost.com