War \u2018will be bloody, there will be fighting but will only definitively end through diplomacy\u2019
\n KYIV
\nThe Ukraine war can only be resolved through \u201cdiplomacy,\u201d Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday amid a deadlock in negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.
\n\u201cThe end will be through diplomacy,\u201d he told a Ukrainian television channel. The war \u201cwill be bloody, there will be fighting but will only definitively end through diplomacy.\u201d
\n\u201cDiscussions between Ukraine and Russia will decidedly take place. Under what format I don\u2019t know \u2014 with intermediaries, without them, in a broader group, at presidential level,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThere are things that can only be reached at the negotiating table,\u201d he said.\u201d We want everything to return (to as it was before)\u201d but \u201cRussia does not want that,\u201d he said, without elaborating.
\nThe results of negotiations, which could have a variety of subjects \u201caccording to the timing of the meeting,\u201d would have to be \u201cfair\u201d for Ukraine, Zelensky stressed.
\nThe president spoke of a document about security guarantees for his nation, saying it would be signed by \u201cfriends and partners of Ukraine, without Moscow.\u201d A bilateral discussion would be held with Russia at the same time, he added.
\nHe also recalled Kyiv\u2019s absolute precondition for continuing talks that Russia does not kill Ukrainian troops who defended the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol.
\nZelensky noted Russian troops \u201coffered the possibility, found a way for these people to come out alive,\u201d from Azovstal.
\n\u201cThe most important thing for me is to save the maximum number of people and soldiers.\u201d According to Moscow 2,439 Ukrainians have surrendered at the plant since May 16, the final 500 on Friday.
\nOn Tuesday, Kyiv\u2019s lead negotiator Mykhaylo Podolyak said talks with Russia were \u201con hold\u201d after taking place regularly in the earlier stages of the conflict but without substantial results.
\nThe following day Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Kyiv authorities of not wanting to continue talks to end hostilities. \u201cTalks are indeed not moving forward and we note the complete lack of will of Ukrainian negotiators to continue this process,\u201d he said.
\nThe last talks took place on April 22, according to Russian news agencies.
\nAfter failing to take Kyiv following the February 24 invasion of Ukraine, Russian troops are now concentrating on the east of the country, where fierce clashes are ongoing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
War \u2018will be bloody, there will be fighting but will only definitively end through diplomacy\u2019 KYIV The Ukraine war can only be resolved through \u201cdiplomacy,\u201d Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday amid a deadlock in negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow. \u201cThe end will be through diplomacy,\u201d he told a Ukrainian television channel. The war \u201cwill […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2223,7543],"class_list":{"0":"post-261858","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-diplomacy","9":"tag-zelensky"},"yoast_head":"\n