New Delhi: The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Saturday that he is open for talks with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, in Israel, but only if there is a cease-fire talk in place, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Zelenskyy said he told the Prime Minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett, that he would be ready to meet the Russian President in Jerusalem.
According to an AP report, Bennett, who visited Moscow for a meeting, spoke repeatedly with Zelenskyy and the leaders of France and Germany as he sought to help mediate an end to the war.
The Ukrainian President said that Bennett informed him about his talks with Putin. Zelenskyy added that he cannot share details, according to the report.
RUSSIA UKRAINE CONFLICT: FULL COVERAGE
The AP report stated that Putin has ignored numerous previous offers of talks from Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian President said at a news conference that the Russians could take the Ukrainian capital “only if they kill us all.”
“If that is their goal, let them come,” the AP report quoted Zelenskyy as saying.
“If they carry out carpet bombings and wipe off the historic memory of the entire region, the history of Kyivan Rus, the history of Europe, they could enter Kyiv but they will have to leave on that land alone, certainly without us,” the Ukrainian President further said.
“Even if they bring a million Russians here, they can’t occupy Ukraine,” Zelenskyy added.
The Ukrainian President denounced the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s refusal to declare a no-fly zone over Ukraine despite its repeated pleas.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has sought for ways to procure air defence assets. The Ukrainian President, however, did not mention any details, the report said.