Ukraine wants direct talks between Zelenskiy and Russia's Putin, says foreign minister

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy talks during an interview with Reuters after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Monday said Ukraine wanted direct talks between President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russia's Vladimir Putin because Kyiv knows Putin is the person calling the shots in Moscow.

"We have long wanted a direct conversation between the president of Ukraine and Vladimir Putin, because we all understand that it is he who makes the final decisions, especially now," he said in a live television broadcast.