The Kremlin has voiced hope that the newly sworn Ukrainian president will help normalize ties with Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t plan to send congratulations to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy following his official swearing-in earlier. Peskov said Putin would only congratulate Zelenskiy on the “first successes” in settling the conflict in eastern Ukraine and normalizing relations with Russia. Relations between the two countries have been strained ever since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. Rumors about Zelenskiy’s potential bid first surfaced when he played the Ukrainian president in a television show several years earlier.

Source: Washington Post May 20, 2019 08:17 UTC