Ukraine will be able to talk about the start of negotiations with Russia only after the Russians leave the occupied lands, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said said in an interview with Corriere della Sera.
"The change of pace can happen only when Russia leaves the lands it invaded," she said.
Vereshchuk also ruled out any territorial concessions on the part of Ukraine, which some Western politicians talk about, the so-called "peace" in exchange for Donbas and Crimea.
"Ukrainians are clear and unanimous: we will not trade our people and parts of our regions, both in Crimea and Donbas. Putin is craving not only land, let us not have illusions that a compromise is possible. Putin intends to destroy us as a state. It is a matter of life or death for us," she stressed.
Earlier, the National Security and Defence Council warned that Russian propaganda is actively promoting the topic of negotiations.
Recently, President of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embalo said that Putin asked him to convey a message to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to him, the Russian president expressed readiness for negotiations.