12 April 2021, Monday, 17:52 268

Putin Rejects Talks With Zelenskyy On Escalation In Donbas And Buildup Of Russian Troops On Border

Редактор: Daria Zubkova

Russian President Vladimir Putin did not respond to a request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the escalation of the situation in the Donbas and the massing of Russian troops on the border.

Zelenskyy’s press secretary Yulia Mendel announced this to the Reuters news agency, the Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"The president’s office, of course, made a request to speak with Vladimir Putin. We have not received an answer yet and we very much hope that this is not a refusal of dialogue," she said.

According to Russian media reports, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to Mendel’s claim that he had not seen any such requests from Ukraine in recent days.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced earlier on Monday that Russia had rejected an official request from Ukraine to explain the reasons for the build-up of its troops on the border.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba considers the current increase of Russia’s military presence on the border with Ukraine to be the most ambitious provocation since the detention of Ukrainian sailors in the Kerch Strait in 2018.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has discussed the escalation of the situation in the Donbas and the massing of Russian troops on its border with Ukraine with Stoltenberg, United States President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau since the beginning of April.

Zelenskyy has also paid a working visit to Turkey to meet with President Recep Erdogan and plans to visit France this week to meet with President Emmanuel Macron.