Ukraine and Russia have temporarily suspended peace talks aimed at ending the war.
Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak said on his country’s state television that there would be no progress in the talks if Russia did not recognize the situation on the ground.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, saying it was seeking to “eliminate Nazism” in Ukraine.
“They still live in a world that allegedly had Ukrainian Nazism,” Podolyak said, adding that there was only “Russian Nazism.”
He stressed that a ceasefire can be discussed only after the complete withdrawal of Russian troops, with the complete liberation of all “occupied” lands.
On Tuesday, Russia confirmed the completion of the talks. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko told reporters: “No, negotiations are not ongoing. Ukraine has practically withdrawn from the negotiation process.” He stressed that at the moment there are no negotiations with Kyiv “in any way”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday.
German government spokesman Steffen Hepstreet said that Schultz and Zelensky agreed on “the need for a diplomatic solution through negotiations between Ukraine and Russia” to end the conflict.
The leaders of the two countries agreed that Russia should immediately stop its military operations and withdraw its troops from Ukraine.
Zelenskiy described his phone call with Schultz as “very productive” and among the topics discussed was military support for Ukraine, he said in his daily video message Tuesday night.
