RT reported that President Volodymyr Zelensky has pointed out that Ukraine's return to the 1991 border is no longer a prerequisite for holding peace talks with Russia, even as he continues to promote his own " peaceful formula".
President Zelensky has banned all talks with current leaders in Moscow in 2022, after four former regions of Ukraine overwhelmingly voted to join Russia. Since then, Mr Zelensky has mobilized Western support for his 10-point peace formula, including Russia's withdrawal of all its troops and a return to Ukraine's 1991 border, including Crimea, forcing Moscow to pay compensation, among other conditions.
However, in an interview with CBS this week, Mr. Zelensky said that it is not necessary to reclaim the territory by military means alone, and pointed out that Ukrainian forces should at least restore the status quo by 2022.
"We will not have to liberate our entire territory by military means... I am sure that when Russian President Vladimir Putin loses what he has held since 2022, he will completely lose confidence even in countries that are still doubting whether they should support Ukraine or not," Zelensky said.
The Kremlin has said it is ready for meaningful negotiations and blamed the lack of diplomatic breakthroughs on the Ukrainian government, which has refused to accept "realty on the ground".
Despite the failure of Ukraine's counterattack last year and the recent achievements that Russian forces have made along the front line, Mr. Zelensky said that once Russia fails on the battlefield, Mr. Putin will be forced to seek dialogue.
And when he is ready for dialogue, international conditions must certainly be to ensure Ukraines territorial integrity, Zelensky added.
On March 29, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said Kiev could participate in diplomacy with Moscow after the peace summit proposed by Switzerland. However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Kiev is in conflict with itself and Moscow will not accept a set of rules "imposed by others".
The final meaningful talks between Russia and Ukraine were held in Istanbul, Turkey in the spring of 2022, but failed when one side accused the other of making unrealistic demands.
Mr. Putin said that the Ukrainian delegation initially agreed with some Russian terms, but then suddenly abandoned the deal - said to be after British Prime Minister at that time Boris Johnson advised Kiev to refuse a ceasefire and "continue fighting", pledging that Kiev would receive full support from the West.
Western countries supporting Ukraine have affirmed that a peaceful solution can only be achieved under Kiev's conditions and said they will continue to provide weapons to Ukraine "as long as it needs them". Russia noted that no foreign aid would change the course of the conflict.
