Putin: Zelensky is a nice and sincere man
During the "Russia Calling!" Forum in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Do I have any relationship with Zelensky? No! I've never seen him. We don't know each other, and we only talked on the phone. I think he is a nice and sincere man," said Putin, adding that he wants to change the situation for the better.
In his opinion, Zelensky "wants to change the situation in Ukraine for the better, and real steps have already been made to achieve that," including the withdrawal of forces and equipment in the Donbas. Earlier, Putin had publicly said that Zelensky could not ensure the withdrawal of forces "because of the influence of nationalists."
The presidents of Ukraine and Russia have not officially met but held several phone conversations. Zelensky called Putin because of the shelling in the Donbas and the capture of Ukrainian sailors in the Kerch Strait.
On November 18, Russia confirmed its participation in the Normandy Four meeting on December 9 in Paris.
The Kremlin also did not rule out the possibility of a personal meeting between Zelensky and Putin. Earlier, former President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed to hold talks in Kazakhstan.
Earlier, in an interview with the German newspaper Bild, Zelensky said that at a meeting with Putin, he would first tell him that Crimea and the Donbas belong to Ukraine. Commenting on this statement, the Kremlin said that the Russian President will begin the meeting with Zelensky "with the appropriate phrases."