The activists that organized a protest against a potential referendum on peaceful negotiations with Russia met with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
One of the activists, Tim Zlatkin, made a post about it on his Facebook page.
According to him, the conversation lasted nearly an hour.
“Briefly about Zelensky’s position: 1. Negotiations with the aggressor are subject for discussion. It is also a staffing question as it concerns heads of Minsk working groups. 2. The referendum should be viewed as a poll rather than a legal initiative. Personally I have no idea how to lawfully conduct it because, as Oleksandr Shulman noted, the term “referendum” by law means getting a final decision, and a poll means gathering information. 3. “I want to stop the fire”, Zelensky said. I replied, “And we want to win the war. When we start talking about a ceasefire, we are being attacked in the Donbas,” Zlatkin states.
Zelensky has also announced the creation of a large work group for the regular dialogue with activists and the society. In addition, he assured activists that the question of giving up Ukrainian territory to the aggressor won’t be on the table.
Read more about a potential referendum idea in our material: “Referendum on making peace with Russia: the dangers of Zelensky’s initiative”.