President Volodymyr Zelenskyy notes the expansion of the zone of aggression of the Russian Federation in the Sea of Azov after talks between U.S. President Joseph Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian News Agency learned this from a statement by the Office of the President with reference to Zelenskyy's interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
“After the talks between the American and Russian leaders, there is no reduction in the military grouping near our borders. Moreover, another space for escalation has emerged - in the Sea of Azov, where 70% of the water area is closed by Russia. When this starts to change, then it will be possible to say that the arguments sound convincing," the head of state said, answering the question of whether he considers the threats of "very tough economic sanctions" voiced by Biden to be sufficient to stop Russia.
Besides, commenting on the question of whether it would be enough to put pressure on Putin to jeopardize the commissioning of the Nord Stream-2 main gas pipeline, Zelenskyy noted that if the pipeline starts working, which would mean stopping gas transportation through the territory of Ukraine, "the security of the east and center of Europe will collapse instantly."
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, during the talks on December 7, Putin told Biden about Russia's interest in legal guarantees of NATO's eastward non-expansion.
Zelenskyy said that Biden told him in a telephone conversation that Putin had promised not to attack Ukraine.
In an interview with the 1+1 TV channel, Zelenskyy said that he did not rule out direct negotiations with Putin.
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