Talks with Russia same as playing 'Russian roulette' game with full cylinder - Podolyak

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, has compared negotiations with Russia to a "Russian roulette" game with a full cylinder and a fatal ending for everyone.

Therefore, the main condition for the start of negotiations is the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, Podolyak said.

"Negotiating with Russia means playing "Russian roulette" game with a full [cylinder] and a fatal ending for everyone. War continuation, terror and criminal blackmail. Volodymyr Zelensky announced the key conditions of negotiation process. The main – Russian troops withdrawal from all Ukrainian territories," he wrote on Twitter.

Following his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Lviv on August 18, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that there is no trust towards the Russian Federation, adding that negotiations with Russia will be possible only after the withdrawal of Russian troops from all temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.