Lviv: Ukraine's priorities at the Ukrainian-Russian talks in Turkey this week will be "sovereignty and territorial integrity," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told his nation on Sunday in his nightly address.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his government is willing to discuss the adoption of a neutral stance as part of a peace deal with Russia aimed at ending the war.
"Security guarantees and the neutral, non-nuclear status of our state. We are ready to accept this. This is the most important point," he said while speaking to a group of independent Russian journalists on Sunday for the very first time since the war began on February 24.
"We are looking for peace, really, without delay," he said.
"There is an opportunity and a need for a face-to-face meeting in Turkey. This is not bad. Let's see the outcome." This week, he said, "I will continue to appeal to the parliaments of other countries" to remind them of the dire situation in besieged cities like Mariupol.
He thanked Ukraine's armed forces, who he said "are holding back the occupiers, and in some areas they are even taking steps forward. Well done."
Earlier Sunday, Zelenskyy told reporters that the issue of neutrality - and agreeing to stay out of NATO - should be put to Ukrainian voters in a referendum after Russian troops withdraw from the country.
