"Negotiating territories is my job, not the delegation's" - Zelensky

The Ukrainian delegation in negotiations with Russia is not authorized to discuss territorial issues, said Volodymyr Zelensky. According to him, discussing this topic is “its business.”

“Our delegation has a mandate to discuss humanitarian issues, such as the return of prisoners of war and children, or a ceasefire. However, they do not have a mandate to discuss Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Zelensky said.

“Negotiating about territories is my business,” Zelensky said, insisting that he is ready to discuss this topic only with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky also noted that Ukraine does not recognize the lost territories as “de jure Russian.”

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier noted that Putin had repeatedly spoken of his readiness for contacts at the highest level, emphasizing that these contacts should be the result of agreements developed at the technical and expert levels.