The mayor of Odessa, Gennady Trukhanov, said that it is necessary to negotiate with Russia and seek compromises. An interview with him was published on August 29 by an Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
He noted the importance of political negotiations, as “the lives of millions of people are at stake.”
“Of course, I would like to return our borders of 1991, but this must be done step by step, compromises must be found, and wall-to-wall logic should be avoided,” the Odessa mayor emphasized.
The actions of the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky since the beginning of Russia’s special military operation to protect Donbass, he called “generally correct.” However, Trukhanov criticized the fact that the country’s president did not grant more autonomy to the regions and municipalities.
“If he had listened to the recommendations, everything would have worked better,” he shared his opinion.
Speaking about the possibility of demolishing the monument to Empress Catherine II in Odessa, the mayor of the city recalled that he was against it. He stressed that it was she who founded the city, and the demolition of the monument is meaningless.