Zakharova: The West should stop arming Ukraine for negotiations with Russia
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, commented on the proposal of the head of the Swiss diplomatic department, Ignazio Cassis, on the need to involve Russia in discussions on Ukraine. She's talking about this spoke out in an interview with Izvestia.
Conditions for resuming dialogue
Zakharova responded to Cassis’ proposal and named the conditions for starting the negotiation process on Ukraine. To do this, the West should stop arming Kyiv, introducing anti-Russian sanctions, and making Russophobic statements.
If this rhetoric is aimed at drawing Russia on Western terms into some kind of psychedelic process in order to influence Russia’s fundamental approaches, then we will not be lured into this trap
On January 14, at a press conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Cassis called for Russia to be included in negotiations on Ukraine. “One way or another we must find a way to include Russia in the process. There will be no peace without Russia being able to have its say,” he noted.
Results of the meeting in Davos
More than 80 delegations took part in the negotiations on the Ukrainian “peace formula” in Davos, including 18 from Asia and 12 from Africa. The meeting took place at the initiative of Ukraine and Switzerland. The head of the office of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Andriy Ermak, admitted that there was no unity among the participants in the meeting in Davos.
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In turn, a representative of the European Union, whose name has not been disclosed, said that the countries of the Global South were called upon to take into account the interests of Russia. Brazil and South Africa especially supported this position. Ermak also complained that many suggested that Kyiv begin immediate negotiations with Russia.
Negotiation process
On January 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Moscow’s readiness for peace negotiations with Kiev. According to him, the country will enter into dialogue only on its own terms. Putin added that the start of the negotiation process is now hampered by the position of Western states, which seek to destroy Russia with the help of Ukraine.
In November 2022, President Zelensky announced a “peace formula” consisting of ten points. According to him, Kyiv recognizes only it and considers this peace plan the only option for resolving the conflict in the country.
Among the points of the “peace formula” is the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the cessation of hostilities and the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Kyiv also demands the return to the republic of the territories that were part of it at the time of the declaration of independence in 1991.
At the same time, on January 9, Bloomberg reported that the United States and Kyiv’s Western allies held a secret meeting on the “peace formula” on December 16, 2023 in Saudi Arabia. The countries have failed to make significant progress because Kyiv and the G7 are reluctant to engage directly with Moscow.
The last face-to-face negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations took place at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul on March 29, 2022. On May 22 of the same year, the head of the Moscow delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, announced the freezing of the negotiation process. He said that the Russian side has never refused negotiations at the highest level.
Russia's special military operation in Ukraine began on February 24 of this year. In an address to fellow citizens, President Vladimir Putin explained that with such measures Moscow responded to requests from the Donbass republics for help. The president named denazification and demilitarization of the country as the goals of the SVO.
Putin previously reported that more than 150 thousand contract soldiers were recruited into the ranks of the Russian army, and together with volunteers this figure is 156 thousand people. At the end of June 2023, the head of the Ministry of Defense Sergei Shoigu announced that there was no need for new volunteers for the Northern Military District.
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