PRESIDENT Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said that Russia was giving Ukraine an ultimatum at peace negotiations but said he was ready to hold direct talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and US president Donald Trump ‘any day’.
His comments came after Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul swapped terms for agreeing to a ceasefire and said they were ready to host another round of prisoner exchanges.
Zelensky told reporters - including from AFP - that the Russian document outlining Moscow’s requirements to halt its invasion amounted to an ultimatum.
‘That is, it is not a memorandum of understanding. At least a memorandum of understanding should be signed by two parties, not just one party demanding,’ something, he said sitting around a table with international and Ukrainian media.
Therefore, it cannot be called a memorandum. It is, after all, an ultimatum from the Russian side to us,’ he added.
