Russian official reveals proposed peace conditions with Ukraine

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu chairs peace talks between Russia and Ukraine at the presidential office in Istanbul in March 2022 (Photo: Getty).

Vladimir Medinsky, head of Russia's negotiating team with Ukraine, said on November 28 that Kiev could have ended the conflict in April 2022 by recognizing the independence of two self-proclaimed republics in the Donbass region and the Crimean peninsula as Russian territory.

"Among our non-negotiable demands are the recognition of Russia's sovereignty over Crimea, recognition of the independence of the (self-proclaimed) Donbass republics," Medinsky said.

He added that Moscow also had “a long list of humanitarian demands” related to “protecting the Russian-speaking population in Donbass”.

The former culture minister led the Russian delegation at talks in Istanbul, Turkey, where he said Ukraine "missed the opportunity" to end the war and save "hundreds of thousands of lives" of its soldiers.

Mr. Medinsky affirmed that "Russia has never set out to conquer Ukraine" and that the main goal of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine is to protect the Russian-speaking population.

“However, on the advice of the West, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky chose war,” Mr. Medinsky said.

The head of the Ukrainian delegation at the talks in Istanbul, David Arakhamia, earlier confirmed long-standing rumors that the conflict would have ended in just two months, if Kiev had accepted Moscow's demand for neutrality.

“This is the main issue for them: They are ready to end the war if we accept neutrality, like Finland did. And we will commit that we will not join NATO. This is the main issue,” Mr. Arakhamia told Ukrainian television last week.

At the end of March last year, about a month after Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, the two sides held talks in Istanbul. However, the talks broke down at the last minute.

Moscow has repeatedly accused the West of "pulling the strings" to make Ukraine withdraw from the negotiations at the last minute, even though Kiev was ready to sign a peace agreement with Russia.

Mr. Arakhamia denied this accusation. Mr. Arakhamia said that the Ukrainian delegation was not ready to sign any agreement with Russia at that time and that Kiev did not change its mind at the last minute due to pressure from the West.

The delegation had no authority to sign such an agreement, he explained, and in theory a peace agreement could only be signed at a meeting between the heads of state of the two countries.

The official added that Western partners knew about the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, even saw the draft agreement, but did not seek to pressure Ukraine, but only advised it.

Moscow has repeatedly stated its readiness for negotiations, but only if Ukraine acknowledges the “new territorial reality.” The reality Moscow is referring to is the annexation of the territories of Zaporizhia, Kherson, Lugansk, Donetsk to Russia last October and the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 after controversial referendums.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said peace talks would only take place when Russia withdrew all troops from Ukrainian territory, including Crimea.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/quan-chuc-nga-tiet-lo-dieu-kien-hoa-binh-de-xuat-voi-ukraine-20231129082117086.htm