Presidents Meet – level 3
16-12-2019 07:00
On Monday, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, met in Paris.
That was the first time that they have met in face-to-face talks since Zelensky was elected in April, and this meeting was very important for peace talks between the two countries.
The focus of the talks was to resolve a five-year old conflict between the two countries in eastern Ukraine where the Ukrainian government has been battling Russian-backed forces in the Donbas region. According to the United Nations, around 13,000 people have been killed in the region since the fighting began in 2014.
Ukrainians are concerned that Putin could outmaneuver Zelensky in these talks, and Ukraine could end up more disadvantaged. The two presidents met alongside the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. However, the Ukrainian president plans to hold a one-on-one meeting with Putin after Monday’s talks.
Difficult words: peace talk (a talk between countries or governments to end a conflict), backed (supported), outmaneuver (to cleverly get an advantage over a competitor).
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