MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky said that discussing territorial issues with Russia is his responsibility rather than that of the Ukrainian delegation.
"Our delegation has a mandate to discuss humanitarian issues, the issue of prisoners of war and [the return of the] abducted children, or a ceasefire. However, they do not have a mandate to discuss Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is our own constitutional matter," he stated in an interview with the Hungarian news outlet Valasz Online.
"It is my job to hold talks on territories," Zelensky said, claiming that he is willing to negotiate this issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin only.
Zelensky also noted that Ukraine would not recognize the lost territories "as de jure Russian." Earlier, the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) had already admitted the possibility of the actual relinquishment of the territories that came under Russian control.
Russia and Ukraine held a second round of their direct talks in Istanbul on June 2. The sides exchanged documents containing their visions for settling the conflict. The memorandum issued by the Ukrainian side outlined Kiev's vision of a possible meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. The Kiev regime believes that Putin and Zelensky should agree on six issues, including on territories and a complete cessation of hostilities.
The Russian president has repeatedly expressed his readiness for top-level contacts, stressing that those contacts should result from agreements developed at both the technical and expert levels, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, responding to a question about the possibility of a trilateral meeting of the Russian, US, and Ukrainian leaders.