Firefighters extinguish a fire at a gypsum manufacturing plant after shelling in Bakhmut at the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. (Image: AFP)
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak made the comment when asked about an offer from French President Emmanuel Macron to mediate talks between Kyiv and Moscow to end the war in Ukraine
- Reuters
- Last Updated:June 04, 2022, 18:33 IST
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Ukraine said on Saturday there was no point in negotiating with Russia until Moscow’s forces are pushed back as far as possible toward Ukraine’s borders.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak made the comment when asked about an offer from French President Emmanuel Macron to mediate talks between Kyiv and Moscow to end the war in Ukraine that passed the 100-day mark on Friday.
“…Until we receive weapons in their full amount, until we strengthen our positions until we push them (Russia’s forces) back as far as possible to the borders of Ukraine, there is no point in holding negotiations,” Podolyak said on television.
Macron, who has sought to maintain dialogue with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin since Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion, said the West should not humiliate Russia so that it can keep the doors open for a solution to be reached through diplomacy.
Ukraine, which says that Russia has already occupied about 20% of its territory, is now receiving more powerful weapons from the West.
“Our armed forces are ready to use (the new weapons)…and then I think we can initiate a new round of talks from a strengthened position,” David Arakhamia, a Ukrainian lawmaker and a member of the negotiation team, said on Friday.
Among other things, the United States will give Ukraine precision HIMARS rocket systems allowing it to hit Russian positions from a longer range.
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