Head of the Office of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Kirill Budanov*, said in an interview with the Lebanese outlet Al Modon that Kiev intends to take all possible steps to accelerate a settlement of the conflict.

According to him, he is not aware of any specific deadlines set by the United States for ending the conflict. He described the current negotiations as a complex process with no fixed timeframe and added that Ukraine is working to move the process forward as quickly as possible.

When asked about potential presidential elections and whether he would take part, Budanov* said that under current conditions discussing an election campaign is meaningless. He stressed that his primary focus at present is ensuring an effective negotiation process.

In the same interview, Budanov* also stated that Ukrainian society would not accept any claims to what it considers its land and that all territories Kiev regards as its own will inevitably be returned.

* Kirill Budanov is included by Rosfinmonitoring in the list of extremists and terrorists.