Tehran may want to talk with Ukraine about claims that it’s┬аarming Russia with deadly “kamazaki” drones, but President Voldomyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday he doesn’t trust the words of Iran’s leaders.
The Ukrainian president sat down with both CBC News and CTV┬аNews for a roundtable interview at the presidential palace in Kyiv.┬аZelenskyy┬аtold Canadian reporters he doesn’t believe Iran’s public denials.
“They’re killing our people,” Zelenskyy said. “So┬аwhat trust can we talk about?
“Iran supplied [Russia] with drones, [they] supply murders, murders of Ukrainians. This is their agreement. A financial agreement. Blood money for Iran.”
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman┬аNasser Kanani┬аrepeated┬аTehran’s denials in a media statement late Tuesday and тАФ for the first time тАФ expressed a readiness to engage in “dialogue and negotiation with Ukraine to clear these allegations.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister has proposed to Zelenskyy that he cut diplomatic ties with Iran following a wave of drone attacks across the country which killed several people and damaged infrastructure.
Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian government has no doubts that Iranian Shahed-136 “kamikaze” drones were behind the attacks. He said┬аallied nations have separately provided intelligence that backs up his government’s position. He did not address reports that suggest Iranians are training Russians in the use of the drones in Crimea.
“They cannot be trusted,” Zelenskky said, “And I emphasize, it is not people. They are also brainwashed inside the country, in the same way Russia does it. They tell their people, ‘We did not sell anything,’ but all this is a lie, [a] clear lie. They kill our people.”
The Ukrainian president also called on the international community to demand that Russian troops and private security contractors leave the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, which has been occupied for several months. If they don’t, he said, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “should break all their relations with Russia.”
The IAEA’s director general┬аRafael Mariano Grossi doubled down in recent days on┬аthe agency’s urgent call for the establishment of a safety zone around the plant.
Zelenskyy┬аalso expressed gratitude during the interview for Canada’s support, saying he appreciates the fact that he never has to stand in line to speak with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
He sidestepped a question about his government’s plea for more armoured vehicles beyond┬аwhat Canada already┬аhas promised and delivered.
Zelenskyy chose instead to praise┬аthe Canadian government’s swift delivery of┬аmonetary aid, which has helped to keep the Ukrainian economy afloat.
