From: New Voice of Ukraine 🇺🇦
Russian opposition leader Ilya Yashin, who was released from a Russian prison on Aug. 1 during a prisoner exchange between Washington and Moscow, said he never meant to suggest that Ukraine should negotiate a humiliating peace with Russia.
He made this clarification during an interview with Russian blogger Yury Dud on Aug. 12.
Yashin admitted that his initial comment to Russia’s TV Rain, where he said, “Russia and Ukraine need to sit down at the negotiating table,” was poorly phrased.
He stated that after two years of imprisonment, he was “out of context” and did not anticipate that his words would be perceived as spreading “Kremlin’s narrative.”
He affirmed that his position has not changed since 2014 and that he “calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.”
“Only Ukraine can decide when and in what format negotiations should take place,” said Yashin.
“I did not mean that Ukraine should trade its territories for peace. I meant that sooner or later, some peace talks must begin, in a format acceptable to the Ukrainian side. It is unlikely that Ukraine will discuss ceding its territories at these negotiations.”
Voice of Ukraine 