MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/: The government in Kiev will be ready to hold talks to end the conflict in Ukraine if its armed forces gain control of the borders that the country believes are recognized internationally, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said at a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Saturday.
These borders would include the Crimea, Donbass and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, the president said, when asked if Ukraine would be ready for talks if its troops regained control of the positions they had held before Russia started its special military operation in February 2022.
"Are we ready for diplomatic settlement and what kind of diplomatic settlement are we ready for if we're at the borders as of February 24?" Zelensky said, repeating a question from a reporter, according to a video of the news conference that he posted to Telegram.
"It wasn't our borders on February 24, it was a line of engagement," he went on to say. "And so we emphasize once again: Ukraine will be ready for some format of diplomacy when we are really on our borders, on our real borders according to international law."
Zelensky also brought up the issue of the country’s much-desired NATO membership. He said he believes that there is every reason for the alliance to invite the country to join when the bloc convenes for a summit in Vilnius on July 11-12. He said he was expecting a clear signal in this context.
