KYIV. Dec 2 (Interfax) - Without the dialogue with Russian leader Vladimir Putin the resolution of the issue of ending the Donbas war cannot be gotten off the ground, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
"They are saying what kind of dialogue can be between Zelensky and Putin? You know, one can do without this dialogue, but it is almost like jogging on this running machine. You thus are doing something, losing some calories, but you are staying at the same place," he said in his video address to the Ukrainians that was recorded during his training on a running machine in the fitness club.
Zelensky said that he wants not to stall the settlement of this problem, but wants "all of this to end, and so that we again become a great country - Ukraine."
"I really want to cease the fire and provide the opportunity to stop this war. Also, it is very important in this dialogue not just to address this issue, but also resolve the issue of returning our territories and set deadlines for that," he said.
The president urged people, who voted for him as president, not to pay attention to those politicians, who "have already died as politicians."
"Any zrada [treason, betrayal in Ukrainian] is out of the question" at the Normandy-format summit in Paris on December 9, Zelensky said. "However, I will act more confidently and firmly at this meeting, if I know that my country trusts me and the whole of our independent people are behind my back," he said.