Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told Kyiv Post he was “very surprised” by his recent conversation with President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of Friday’s Black Sea Security Forum. Poroshenko announced the meeting on Wednesday via a Facebook post. The talks were part of Zelensky’s separate meetings with parliamentary faction leaders, amid long-standing political rivalry between the two figures.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Poroshenko said Wednesday’s meeting generated hope. “I was very surprised by the wave of interest, attention, and hope that was generated by the meeting with Zelensky. I think this is a positive sign,” Poroshenko said. He declined to disclose details of Wednesday’s meeting, noting that both sides had agreed not to comment publicly. However, he said his perception of the meeting had shifted. “I entered the meeting with a certain degree of distrust and skepticism regarding the sincerity of Zelensky’s desire to end the war. However, when I left the meeting, I was less skeptical,” he said. Poroshenko added that a large portion of the discussion focused on how to achieve peace. “Peace – on Ukraine’s terms. Under no circumstances through the surrender of territories or anything else; peace when Russia becomes weak and demonstrates a lack of success with military operations, along with the effectiveness of international sanctions, will be forced to sign for peace,” Poroshenko said.