Ukraine’s president-elect vows to restart peace talks with pro-Russia forces

Ukraine’s president-elect Volodymyr Zelensky vows to “reboot” peace talks with pro-Russia forces in the country’s conflict-stricken east that also involve Moscow and the West, in his first post-victory remarks, which were cautiously welcomed by the Kremlin.

The comedian-turned-politician told reporters on Sunday that finding an everlasting solution to the conflict plaguing the Donbass region was his top priority.

Since 2014, the mainly Russian-speaking regions in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of a bloody conflict, which pits Kiev’s military against the pro-Russia forces there.

The armed confrontations began when a wave of protests in Ukraine overthrew a democratically-elected pro-Russia government and replaced it with a pro-West administration. The majority in those areas refused to endorse the new administration.

Kiev and its Western allies accuse Moscow of having a hand in the crisis. Moscow, however, denies the allegations.

“We will continue with the Minsk talks, we will reboot them,” said Zelensky in a reference to a peace process in the Belarusian capital, which led to the signing of two ceasefire agreements in 2014 and 2015 between Kiev and pro-Russians with the mediation of Russia, Germany and France.

He vowed to act “within the Normandy format,” referring to the French-German-Russian-Ukrainian talks on war in Donbass.

The two deals have so far failed to contain the deadly violence, with the two sides constantly trading accusations of truce violations.

PressTV-Comedian Zelensky wins Ukraine presidency in landslide

Volodymyr Zelensky trounced incumbent Petro Poroshenko by taking 73 percent of the vote.

Zelensky, whose only previous political role was playing the president in a TV show, trounced incumbent Petro Poroshenko by taking 73.2 percent of the vote, according to nearly complete official results released early Monday. Poroshenko garnered just 24.4 percent.

Failure to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine was seen as the main factor behind Poroshenko’s defeat.

Russia cautiously hopeful

Reacting to Zelensky’s comments, some top Russian officials have expressed cautious hopes that the newcomer on Ukraine’s political stage could help improve the situation in Ukraine and troubled relations with Moscow.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said a Facebook post on Monday that Moscow has a chance of improving ties with Ukraine under the leadership of Zelensky, but that he has “no illusions.”

Medvedev said “there is a chance for improving cooperation with our country,” adding that he result of the election “shows a clear demand for a new approach to solving Ukraine’s problems.”

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also posted a cautiously optimistic message on Facebook.

“With all the understanding of how the world works behind the scenes, I’ll still say: Ukraine can go for a reset. Not in the sense of the redistribution of cash flow from one pocket to another. But a real one, based on the understanding of the need to unite the people, not on the basis of force, but on the basis of a national agenda,” Zakharova wrote.

In addition, Russia’s Chechen Republic leader, Ramzan Kadyrov also congratulated Zelensky on his victory.

“I would like to wish Vladimir Zelensky good luck in the noble quest of Ukraine revival and bringing together Ukrainian and Russian people. If he has such intentions,” Kadyrov said.

Russian Orthodox Church also expressed hopes the Ukrainian state will stop the oppression of the faithful under the new president.

“I cannot speak about the political fallout, since it’s hard to predict. Yet I wholeheartedly hope that the persecution of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church will stop,” spokesman Vladimir Legoida told TASS.

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