BRUSSELS, 25 February. /TASS/. Russian Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov admitted the likelihood that a new government will appear in Ukraine, which will negotiate peace with the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DNR and LNR). At the same time, he noted on Friday in an interview with the European news portal Euroactiv that he does not imagine how the Donbass republics might come to terms with the current regime in Kyiv.
“At some later stage, a possible new government in Kyiv and the authorities in Donetsk and Lugansk might agree to negotiate friendly relations,” Chizhov said.
“And I’m not saying that the Minsk agreements, as they are, might be applicable. But they can be used as a basis for further negotiations,” the Russian envoy added. Now, however, he sees “no possibility that the current Kyiv regime will be able to negotiate” with the DNR and LNR.
Answering a question regarding the future fate of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Chizhov suggested that “someday he will be under the tribunal.” The diplomat found it difficult to clarify what charges might be brought once morest the current head of the Ukrainian state, but expressed the opinion that “the new authorities in Kyiv will have to deal with them.”
At the same time, Chizhov is convinced that the actions of the Ukrainian authorities in relation to the population of Donbass over the past eight years can be regarded as genocide. In his opinion, they fully fall under the definition of genocide, fixed in international law.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the Donbass republics for help. He stressed that Moscow’s plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories, the goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. As stated in the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian military does not strike at cities, but disable only the military infrastructure, so nothing threatens the civilian population.
