Just stop the bombing and then sit down at the negotiating table: Ukrainian President

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked Russia to stop bombing Ukrainian cities if it wants to sit down to talk. Zelenskiy said this in a joint interview with Reuters and CNN.

He said, "It's necessary to at least stop bombing people, just stop the bombing and then sit down at the negotiating table."

The first round of talks between the two countries failed to achieve any result. Zelenskiy has also requested the international community to do more, including imposing a no-fly zone.

Zelenskiy said, "This is not about dragging NATO countries into war. The truth is everyone has long since been dragged into war and definitely not by Ukraine, but by Russia - a large-scale war is going on.”

Russia’s main reason to attack Ukraine is its insistence to join NATO. It has faced stiff opposition from the Russian government as it has raised its security concern.

Zelenskiy said, "Our partners, if they are not ready to take Ukraine into NATO ... because Russia does not want Ukraine to be in NATO, should work out common security guarantees for Ukraine.”

He added, "This means that we have our territorial integrity, that our borders are protected, we have special relations with all our neighbours, we are completely safe, and the guarantors that give us security, they guarantee this legally."

He warned NATO members and said that It is very important to know that if Ukraine falls, then all these (Russian) troops will be on the borders of your NATO member countries. “You will be facing the same question there," Zelenskiy said.