Ready To Meet President Putin To End The War, President Zelensky: Decisions Cannot Be Taken Without Him

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the only Russian official he was willing to meet was for steps to end the war between the two countries.

Zelensky, who spoke by video link to an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos also said organizing any talks with Russia became more difficult, given what he said was evidence of Russia's actions against civilians under occupation.

Russia denies targeting civilians in what it calls "special operations" to undermine Ukraine's military capabilities.

"The president of the Russian Federation decides everything," President Zelensky said through an interpreter.

"If we talk about ending this war without him personally, that decision cannot be taken."

President Zelensky said the discovery of mass killings in areas occupied by Russian troops at the start of the war, particularly outside Kyiv, made it more difficult to organize talks and he would rule out discussions with other officials.

"I cannot accept any meeting with anyone coming from the Russian Federation other than the president," he explained.

"And only in cases when there is one problem at the (table): stopping the war. There is no other reason for another type of meeting," he stressed.

In his address to the audience in Davos, President Zelensky also said the war came with enormous human costs for Ukraine. The country's troops, he said, were making gains, especially near the second city of Kharkiv, but "the bloodiest situation remains in the Donbas, where we are losing too many people".

He added that any idea of forcibly restoring the Crimean peninsula, which Russia captured and annexed in 2014, would lead to hundreds of thousands of victims.

Russia and Ukraine negotiators have held sporadic talks since Russian troops invaded Ukraine in late February, but both sides say talks have stalled.

Last week on Ukrainian television President Zelensky said it was impossible to stop the war without involving some sort of diplomacy.