Ukraine’s Zelensky says Biden-Putin talks ‘positive’

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that a video call between US President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin was “positive”.

“I think it’s positive that the president of the United States spoke with the president of Russia,” Zelensky said.

His comments came a day after Biden warned Putin of a “strong” Western economic retaliation against any Russian attack on ex-Soviet Ukraine.

Western countries raised concerns of a possible invasion after Moscow deployed up to 100,000 troops on and around Ukraine’s borders, sparking fears of a major escalation in the conflict there.

Zelensky, speaking to reporters along with visiting Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, said that he would comment on the call “in detail” Thursday following talks with Biden.

“I believe that Ukraine’s victory lies in the fact that the United States has always supported Ukraine, our sovereignty and independence,” Zelensky said.

“But the most important thing is that now we see a real and personal reaction from President Biden and his personal role in resolving the conflict,” he added.

Ex-Soviet Ukraine has been fighting pro-Russia separatists in its eastern Lugansk and Donetsk regions since 2014, shortly after Moscow seized Crimea.

Kiev and its Western allies accuse the Kremlin of supporting the separatists — claims Moscow denies — in a conflict that has claimed over 13,000 lives.