Rumors that Ukraine and Russia secretly negotiated to end the conflict?

Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny (left) and his Russian counterpart Valery Gerasimov (Photo: Pravda).

Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, on December 1 quoted informed sources as saying that Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny and his Russian counterpart Valery Gerasimov are secretly conducting military-to-military negotiations.

The driving force behind those negotiations is not Washington or Moscow, not US President Joe Biden or Russian President Vladimir Putin, but instead the two senior generals running the war in Ukraine, Russian General Valery Gerasimov and Ukrainian General Valery Zaluzhny," said journalist Hersh.

Journalist Hersh quoted an unnamed US official as saying that General Zaluzhny had Washington's support for such talks. The two sides are said to have discussed terms related to the issue of Crimea and four Ukrainian regions that were annexed by Russia after controversial referendums late last year.

In return, Russia may be willing to allow Ukraine to join NATO on the condition that NATO commits not to deploy troops on Ukrainian territory. The agreement would also prohibit NATO from placing offensive weapons in Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine have not yet commented on the above information.

Ukraine has long pursued the goal of becoming a member of NATO. In fact, Kiev has considered NATO membership a strategic goal in its foreign policy since 2017. However, Kiev has repeatedly made it clear that it will never cede territory to Russia in exchange for peace or NATO membership.

The idea that Ukraine could cede Russian-controlled territories in exchange for NATO membership has been floated by former senior NATO officials, including former Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and former Supreme Allied Commander Europe James Stavridis.

"Supporters of this plan should ask other countries to make similar concessions. If they do, I am ready to listen to their arguments," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stressed on November 30.

Recently, some media outlets have said that the US and some of its allies are forcing Ukraine to sit down at the negotiating table with Russia in the context of a stalemate conflict that has become a protracted war of attrition. Specifically, the US and Germany are said to be providing Kiev with weapons that are enough to hold out, instead of weapons that can help Ukraine regain territory from Russia.

However, President Zelensky denied this information. He affirmed that the battlefield was not deadlocked and that no ally or partner was pressuring Ukraine to negotiate with Russia.

He also publicly criticized General Zaluzhny when he told the media that the Russia-Ukraine war was at a stalemate and there would be no breakthrough in the near future.

President Zelensky also recently warned military leaders not to interfere in the country's politics . He was mainly referring to military generals who entered politics in the years after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. However, Zelensky specifically mentioned current commanders, including General Zaluzhny.

“With all due respect to General Zaluzhny and all the commanders on the battlefield, there is an absolute understanding of hierarchy and there is only one, and there cannot be two, three, four, five,” he said.

General Zaluzhny has shown no political ambitions. But his popularity has fueled speculation that he may be the only public figure who could challenge President Zelensky.

Mr Zelensky has cancelled next year's presidential election, citing martial law and the need to focus on the ongoing conflict.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/ro-tin-ukraine-nga-bi-mat-dam-phan-cham-dut-xung-dot-20231202140449993.htm