'It's pointless,' Russia FM Lavrov rejects idea of speaking to Ukraine's Zelenskyy

Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that it is “pointless” to speak to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During an interview with Polish news outlet Radio and Television of Portugal, the Russian diplomat said that the Ukrainian President does not act independently and is always being told what to do. The chances of the two warring parties sitting on the negotiation table look bleak as Putin and Zelenskyy continue bashing each other. 

"Everybody knows that Zelenskyy is in no way an independent figure. He is being told what to do, and which policy to pursue. Of course, he is improvising while pursuing this course, depending on the situation on this concrete day. But it is senseless to speak with him," the Russian Foreign Minister said on Saturday. He pointed out the meeting initiated by Ukraine in Copenhagen and highlighted how the West was involved in the whole ordeal. “Now, the West has baked a group of countries, which have met in Copenhagen these days. The entire Group of Seven. Plus, they invited BRICS countries, naturally, without Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Ukrainian representatives,” he added.

Lavrov then went on to stress how China received the invitation to the meeting but refused to take part in the event. “China received an invitation but refused to take part in this event, thinking that it is doomed to failure and would be absolutely confrontational as its declared goal was to ensure the approval of Zelenskyy’s peace formula," Lavrov furthered. Lavrov emphasised that this “formula” entails Russia to be punished. "This ‘formula’ demands Russia’s capitulation and punishment, as well as reparations from us. And peace talks and peace agreements could allegedly be possible only after that," the Russian official noted. 

‘World wants to kill Putin’: Zelenskyy

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president asserted that the entire world wants to kill Putin. The remarks from Zelenskyy came when he was asked if he fears whether his life might be in danger. “It is more dangerous for Putin than for me, honestly. Because it’s only in Russia that they want to kill me, whereas the entire world wants to kill him,” the Ukrainian president insisted during a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez, CNN reported. 

In the press conference, the Ukrainian President also made explosive claims about the Russian private mercenary group Wagner. The Ukrainian leader stated that the private mercenary group suffered “enormous losses'' during the Russia-Ukraine war. He even went on to state that at least 21,000 Wagner mercenaries have been killed while fighting in Ukraine. “Our troops killed 21,000 Wagnerites in eastern Ukraine alone,” Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv on Saturday, adding that another 80,000 Wagner fighters had been wounded,” the Ukrainian president asserted at the press briefing. The Ukrainian President later called Wagner the “motivated staff of the Russian army”.