As Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on February 17 in Munich, responding to question posed by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association of Bangladesh (DCAB), Ambassador to Dhaka, Aleksandr Mantytsky said his hopes that the meeting would not impact Russo-Bangla relations.

It may be mentioned here that, as Russia’s Special Military Operations in Ukraine began, Bangladesh has been consistently refraining from directly condemning or criticizing Russia while the government has articulated its commitment to maintaining a ‘neutral’ stance on several resolutions concerning the Ukraine war passed by the UN General Assembly. Instead, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been consistently criticizing Western sanctions on Russia.

Earlier Bangladesh Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud told the media on February 14 that the meeting between Prime Minister Hasina and President Zelensky was arranged at the behest of Kiev. However, Mahmud emphasized that the meeting would not affect Bangladesh’s extremely cordial relations with Russia.

Meanwhile, Russian ambassador Aleksandr Mantytsky emphasized that during the meeting with Bangladesh PM, Volodymyr Zelensky shall tr to garner support towards his “formula of peace” which is being promoted by Western countries.

Reiterating his hope that Foreign Minister Mahmud’s statement would remain true, Mantytsky stated, “We hope that it will not have an impact”.

Meanwhile, commenting to Munich meeting between Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, editor Blitz in an article, which has been published in a number of international news outlets wrote: “Ukraine-Russia conflict may end only once Donald Trump wins on November 5 this year. He can force neo-Nazis in Kiev into reaching a peaceful solution to the crisis. Until then, talking about peace with Zelensky is useless. For Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina meeting Volodymyr Zelensky in Munich and asking him to resolve the conflict through dialogue would be just wastage of energy”.