REUTERS
The president said he had presented valid arguments when addressing the issue during talks.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine must first regain control of the border with Russia before local elections are held in Donbas.
"The Russian president and I probably have a completely different view on the transfer of the border and on when it's possible, I'd say frankly," the head of state told a joint press conference with French President Emanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin following the Normandy Four summit in Paris December 9.
"And, indeed, I can openly talk about this, the Russian president ... he says that in Minsk [agreements] signed by our former president Petro [Poroshenko], the transfer of the border goes after the election. Naturally, I raise the issue of transferring the border before local elections," Zelensky said.
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The president noted he had presented valid arguments when addressing the issue during talks.
"Now we have different views, but I think that it's not by chance that we're talking about meeting in a few months, and it's not by chance that we're having a meeting of the four leaders," Zelensky emphasized. "We must find a way out, otherwise we won't move far."
As UNIAN reported earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky, in the Normandy Four negotiations proposed creating a subgroup within the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk on restore Ukraine's control over the border with Russia in Donbas.