Zelenskyy Welcomes Possibility Of Putin-Biden Meeting As 'Timely, Very Important'

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2021) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden would be a timely and important event, which at the same time should not address Kiev-linked issues without the participation of Ukraine.

"I believe that this [Biden-Putin summit] is good. It is very timely and very important. During such a dialogue, as they say, the guns are silent. So I think it could solve some issues because I think there should be a dialogue between these countries. Because sometimes, when such great states do not talk, others suffer, " Zelenskyy told reporters.

He noted that Putin and Biden were likely to discuss Kiev-related issues, but it would be wrong to raise these matters in bilateral format without the presence of the Ukrainian side.

"But if they raise the issue of Ukraine, [and] I am sure that such a question may be relevant, then it seems to me that the issue is not even just, [and] I think it will not be so substantive if they discuss Ukraine without us.

It will not be right. And once again, it will show that big countries think that everything is happening around them. But I think the world is much bigger," he explained.

The US leader proposed to hold a meeting in a third country during a phone call with Putin on Tuesday. Moscow said it would consider the idea. However, two days later the United States declared the expulsion of ten Russian diplomats and imposed sanctions on 32 Russian citizens and firms over alleged interference in the 2020 US presidential election and cyberattacks on US software supply chain networks. Moscow imposed reciprocal measures earlier in the day and said that the possibility of the summit will be studied with new developments in mind.