Feb 27, 2022 - World

Ukraine president rejects Kremlin offer to hold talks in Belarus

Rebecca Falconer

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds a press conference in regard of Russia's attack on Ukraine in Kiev, Ukraine on February 24 — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a press conference in Kyiv on Sunday about Russia's attack on his country. Photo: Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday rejected the Kremlin's offer of negotiations in Belarus due to the neighboring country not being neutral territory.

Driving the news: Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the "Russian delegation is ready for talks, and we are now waiting for the Ukrainians" in the Belarusian city of Homel, per AP. Zelensky said in a video address that he's open to talks, but not in Belarus.

What he's saying: "If there had been no aggressive action from your territory, we could talk in Minsk ... other cities can be used as the venue for talks," Zelensky said.

"We want peace, we want to meet, we want an end to the war," he added.
"Warsaw, Bratislava, Budapest, Istanbul, Baku — we proposed all that to the Russian side. Any other city would work for us, too, in a country from whose territory rockets are not being fired."

Go deeper: The latest on the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Editor's note: This article has been updated with Peskov's comment.

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Ukraine president rejects Kremlin offer to hold talks in Belarus

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