Dmytro Kuleba: Ukraine is not trading people, land, or sovereignty – a position of the President of Ukraine as to negotiations

Ukraine is not trading people, land and sovereignty, and by such a firm position the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the Ukrainian delegation to take part in negotiations with the russian side. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba stated this on the evening of Monday, March 28, on the air of the national telethon.

“The President of Ukraine gave very clear instructions to our delegation. We do

not trade people, land and sovereignty. Our position is reinforced concrete. It is supported by international law, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, international sanctions that have been applied against russia, weapons that have been transferred and are being transferred to Ukraine for defense against the aggressor," the Minister said.

According to Dmytro Kuleba, the bare-bones agenda in the negotiations in Turkey is to solve humanitarian problems. The maximum program is a ceasefire, reaching stable agreements on this.

"We are looking forward to the conversation of the two delegations to see if the russians will come to these talks ready to really agree on something, or just repeat their demands, which were heard from the beginning. If we see that the mood has changed and they are ready for a serious, substantive conversation and balanced arrangements, then things will move forward. If it is a repetition of their propaganda stamps behind closed doors, then they will disperse in the same way as they did, "he said.

The Minister stated that so far no agreements have been reached as such. Instead, there is an exchange of thoughts, suggestions and ideas. Contacts between Ukraine's partners and the russian side continue at various levels and in various formats, aimed at encouraging russia to take a more constructive position. Dmytro Kuleba expressed gratitude to Turkey for its leadership in mediation efforts and stimulation of the negotiation process.

The Minister noted that during this month the public position of russia gradually changed from plans to capture key cities of Ukraine a few days before explaining that hostilities are limited to the capture of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Dmytro Kuleba stated that issue of holding a referendum in Ukraine will not be tackled at the talks in Turkey on March 29 because it is an internal matter of Ukraine: "We will decide which referendum to hold or not, it is not the subject of negotiations."

“The President of Ukraine always focuses on people, the position of Ukrainians. We have come a long way in this month of national unity. I rule out a situation when the government will do something against the will of the people," Dmytro Kuleba underscored.