Ukraine president Zelenskyy insists on meeting with Putin

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday (Mar 21) that it would not be possible to negotiate an end to the war in his country without meeting Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.

Zelenskyy told European public television networks such a meeting could discuss the future of occupied Ukrainian territory, but more time would be required to resolve the issue.

He also repeated his acknowledgement made earlier this month that Ukraine could not now secure NATO membership.

"I believe that until such time as we have a meeting with the president of the Russian Federation...you cannot truly understand what they are prepared to do in order to stop the war and what they are prepared to do if we are not ready for this or that compromise," Zelenskyy said in the interview.