Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an interview with a state television station, expressed his willingness to negotiate, after which Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed that “the time for negotiation has come, whether we like it or not.”“.
On the other hand, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba spoke of his country’s intention to hold a “peace summit” in February with the aim of ending the ongoing Russian attacks on his country, stressing that every war ends in a diplomatic way, and that all wars end through measures taken on the battlefield and at the negotiating table..
With the beginning of the war, 3 rounds of negotiations took place in Belarus and a fourth hypothetically, while a fifth round of negotiations was held in Istanbul, in order to reach common points on contentious issues, all of which failed..
Russia terms
- The Russian Foreign Minister spoke about the conditions that his country deems necessary for peace, stressing that Ukraine must surrender, otherwise the war will continue, according to the state news agency “Tass”.“.
- Lavrov renewed his country’s argument that one of the fundamental reasons for its war is to confront the spread of neo-Nazism in Ukraine, calling for “the need for disarmament and de-Nazification.”“.
- He stressed that Russia’s main condition for establishing peace is to maintain its control over 4 regions in eastern and southern Ukraine, which are Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Lugansk, which Moscow annexed last September, in addition to also Crimea..
- According to the American “Newsweek” magazine, one of the main conditions is also to amend the constitution in Ukraine, so that it stipulates the renunciation of joining any military bloc, in reference to NATO and the return to the policy of neutrality..
Ukraine demands
- Speaking to The Associated Press about a possible peace summit, Ukraine’s foreign minister suggested that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres mediate the proceedings..
- Kuleba stipulated, in order to invite Russia to attend the summit, that it be subject to trial for what he described as “war crimes” that it allegedly committed in his country, in an international court, which makes Moscow’s participation impossible..
- As a prerequisite for peace, the Ukrainian president called on his Russian counterpart to withdraw troops from Ukraine, stressing that peace will begin when Putin withdraws his forces from Ukraine..
- He also called on the Ukrainian president to provide security guarantees for his country as a condition for peace, and the need for concerted international efforts to prevent Moscow from launching armed aggression against his country in the future..
No diplomatic solution soon
Regarding the Russian conditions and the Ukrainian demands, political analyst Leon Radciosini told Sky News Arabia that they show that a diplomatic solution, at least for the time being, is unlikely. Kyiv is not willing to give up its basic security concerns and sovereign rights or abandon its lands, while insisting Russia to keep the territory under its control.
He made it clear that Zelensky’s demands and his emphasis on the need to restore the territorial integrity of his country would be the biggest sticking point in any negotiations, but he considered that Russia raises the ceiling of demands until it obtains its most important demand, which is an official recognition of the annexation of Crimea, since all the areas it annexed are not under its control. Indeed, its forces are facing difficult crises, as Putin himself admits, as well as failures.
He indicated that international or Western mediation, which may be represented by France, which still maintains some diplomatic contacts with the Kremlin, may call for a return to before February 24, and may adhere to an American-European recognition of the annexation of Crimea, which they may acquiesce in to end the war and get rid of consequences.
He stressed that all of this depends on the extent of Russia’s seriousness in its call for negotiation, and not as a matter of political maneuvers and tactics with the aim of blaming the West for the reasons for fueling the war and gaining internal sympathy..
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