Francia y Alemania haciendo la cama a Ucrania? Noooo imposssible (NYT)
Putin speaks with the leaders of France and Germany.
The leaders of France and Germany urged President Vladimir V. Putin on Saturday to cease hostilities in Ukraine and hold direct talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky as soon as possible.
Renewing a diplomatic channel that saw heavy use in the days before Russia invaded Ukraine but failed to sway Mr. Putin, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany said that any solution to end the war must be negotiated between Moscow and Kyiv “with respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” according to a statement from the office of the French presidency.
The Kremlin said in a statement after the leaders talked that Mr. Putin “confirmed that the Russian side is open to renewing dialogue with Kyiv,” while blaming Ukraine for the current impasse in the peace talks.
According to the Kremlin, Mr. Putin also said that Western weapons deliveries could lead to “a further destabilization of the situation,” and he renewed his demand that the West drop sanctions for Russia to increase food and fertilizer exports.
Mykhaylo Podolyak, an aide to Ukraine’s president and envoy to peace talks held earlier in the now three-month-long conflict, said in a post on Telegram over the weekend that Russia simply could not be trusted.
“Any agreement with Russia isn’t worth a broken penny,” Mr. Podolyak wrote. “Is it possible to negotiate with a country that always lies cynically and propagandistically?” Until Russian troops withdrew from Ukraine, he said, “negotiations are being conducted by a separate ‘delegation’ on the front line.”
Mr. Zelensky, speaking to an Indonesian research institute on Friday, said that he did not look forward to speaking with Mr. Putin, but that negotiations would most likely be necessary to end the bloodshed.
“There are things to discuss with the Russian leader,” he said, according to Reuters. “I’m not telling you that our people are eager to talk to him, but we have to face the reality of what we are living through.”
