This is reported by RBK-Ukraine, citing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a press conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu. This information is also provided by Kontrakty.UA.
"There are a lot of signals being spread by the Russians regarding certain decrees, as they call them. They seem to be living in some sort of 1917. A decree about peace, a decree about something else," - he listed.
According to Zelensky, the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) was forced, as Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin started to establish numerous channels along with the "separatists" and representatives of other states to influence Ukraine, our independence, and directly on me.
"Many negotiation processes, many shadow corridors. I stopped this. Quickly. I simply halted separatism in our state by preventing anyone in Ukraine from conducting any negotiations with Russia or with Putin's supporters during the war. This was when their troops were here, in the Kyiv region. They were trying to exert pressure through various channels, including our parliamentary corps, European deputies, and representatives from the USA. I just realized that we and our relevant authorities could not control this," - he continued.
Therefore, according to the president, he made the decision because I am the leader of certain negotiations, so I stopped it.
"I understand that Putin doesn't like this because he had many channels. There are channels that everyone knows about, and they also used other channels, even in some of our institutions, which I'm not ready to discuss. That's why the decision was made," - he stated.
NSDC's Ban on Direct Negotiations with Putin
In October 2022, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky enacted the NSDC's decision on the impossibility of conducting negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Recently, Foreign Minister Andriy Sebiga mentioned that Ukraine has not abandoned the principle of not negotiating with Vladimir Putin.
Recall that recently Putin complained that Kyiv allegedly has a ban on negotiations with Russia.