The two sides entered the negotiations with each of them having several demands, while Ukraine adheres to"Ceasefire and opening humanitarian corridors"the Russia stress "Neutrality and non-accession of Ukraine to NATO, disarmament of Ukraine and collective security, the use of the Russian language, getting rid of neo-Nazism"the two most complex files are related to"Sovereignty over a territory دونباس AndCrimea".
Agreements and differences
Commenting on this, the American expert on strategic affairs, Irina Zuckerman, said: "Russian President Vladimir Putin had hoped that by introducing the inevitable change in war strategy due to the inability to take Kyiv as a concession, he could score points with NATO and lift some sanctions.".
Zuckerman added, in an interview with "Sky News Arabia": "Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that the two sides reached consensus on two points, the first is that Ukraine has abandoned NATO and the second is that Ukraine views the Donbass and Luhansk issue as an established fact on the ground, which means that Kyiv has accepted the independence of these territories. However, Ukrainian officials rejected the allegations, saying that Ukraine will continue to struggle for its full sovereignty".
With regard to the NATO issue, she said that "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky He emphasized, long before these negotiations, that he would not go the way of NATO, the reason being that his country was partially occupied and not qualified for this situation anyway, which is not likely to change in the near future.".
She pointed out that "There is unrealistic optimism in the media about settling this point, which is that Ukraine’s neutral status will come with security guarantees. It is not clear who will be the guarantor of its security, as the United States and other NATO members were not included in those talks.".
She explained that "Zelensky’s pressure to meet directly with Putin is not a new development, which he has been doing since the start of the war, but so far there has been no sign of an agreement. So far, the desire to discuss these terms personally does not in any way constitute real concessions from any side. Zelensky has made it clear throughout the process that anything that affects the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine will not be acceptable".
She pointed out that "While negotiations were ongoing, Russian forces continued to bomb Ukrainian cities, and Russia was constantly trying to recruit foreign fighters to supplement its forces on the ground, indicating investment in the continued use of force.".
She pointed out that "The roadmap for peace often reflects a list of Russian demands more than any real expectations of either party, and there has been a failure so far to agree on even minimal terms such as establishing humanitarian corridors and halting attacks on civilians by Russia, or the return of 420,000 civilians that have been completed. Deported from Ukraine to Russia. Without these minimum expectations being met, discussion of broader framework issues is premature at best".
It was noted that "The recent meeting, with its focus on theoretical constructs and wishful thinking, shows that a diplomatic solution, at least for the time being, is light years away. Ukraine is not willing to compromise on its basic security concerns, political rights or territorial integrity, while Russia continues to spin the wheel without acknowledging any failures or mistakes and continues to ignore basic humanitarian demands.".
She emphasized that "No agreement is likely until there is a final defeat on either side and there is no path to victory. Until then, peace may not happen".
A few days ago, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, speaking about his country’s mediation in the crisis, revealed that "The Russians have previously raised the issue of replacing President Volodymyr Zelensky and the complete demilitarization of Ukraine, both of which are no longer on the table.".
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There were three rounds of Belarus And another, a fourth, by default, while this round of negotiations is the first of its kind in the Middle East IstanbulAnd the first, also directly, about two weeks ago, and it comes within the mediation efforts led by Ankara between the two countries Moscow AndKyiv In order to reach common points on contentious issues.
The two sides entered the negotiations with a number of demands, each of them, while Ukraine adheres to a “cease-fire and the opening of humanitarian corridors”, the Russia It stresses “neutrality and Ukraine’s non-accession to NATO, Ukraine’s disarmament and collective security, the use of the Russian language, and getting rid of neo-Nazism.” دونباس AndCrimea“.
Agreements and differences
Commenting on this, Irina Zuckerman, an American expert on strategic affairs, said that “Russian President Vladimir Putin was hoping that by introducing the inevitable change in war strategy due to the inability to take Kyiv as a concession, he could score points with NATO and lift some sanctions.”
Zukerman added, in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”: “Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that the two sides reached consensus on two points, the first is that Ukraine has abandoned NATO and the second is that Ukraine views the Donbass and Luhansk issue as an established fact on the ground, which means “Kyiv accepted the independence of these territories. However, Ukrainian officials rejected the allegations, saying that Ukraine would continue to struggle for its full sovereignty.”
Regarding the NATO issue, she said, “The Ukrainian president… Volodymyr Zelensky He emphasized, long before these negotiations, that he would not go the way of NATO, the reason being that his country was partially occupied and not qualified for this situation anyway, which is not likely to change in the near future.
She noted that “there is unreal optimism in the media about settling this point, which is that Ukraine’s neutral status will come with security guarantees. It is not clear who will be the guarantor of its security, the United States and other NATO members were not included in those talks.”
She explained that “Zelensky’s pressure to hold a direct meeting with Putin is not a new development, which he has been doing since the beginning of the war, but so far there has been no indication of an agreement. Genuine concessions from any side. Zelensky made it clear throughout the process that nothing that would affect Ukraine’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity would be acceptable.”
She noted that “while negotiations were ongoing, Russian forces continued to bomb Ukrainian cities, and Russia was constantly trying to recruit foreign fighters to supplement its forces on the ground, indicating investment in the continued use of force.”
She pointed out that “the road map for peace reflects a list of Russian demands mostly more than any real expectations of either party, and there has been a failure so far to agree on even minimal terms such as establishing humanitarian corridors and stopping attacks on civilians by Russia, or the return of 420,000 civilians were deported from Ukraine to Russia. Without these minimum expectations being met, discussion of the broader framework issues is premature at best.”
She noted that the recent meeting, with its focus on theoretical constructs and wishful thinking, shows that a diplomatic solution, at least for the time being, is light years away. Ukraine is not willing to compromise on its core security concerns, political rights, or territorial integrity, while Russia continues to spin the wheel. without acknowledging any failures or mistakes and continuing to ignore basic humanitarian demands.”
She stressed that “it is unlikely that any agreement will be reached before there is a final defeat on either side and it becomes clear that there is no path to victory. Until then, peace may not occur.”
A few days ago, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, speaking about his country’s mediation in the crisis, revealed that “the Russians had previously raised the issue of replacing President Vladimir Zelensky and the complete disarmament of Ukraine, both of which are no longer on the table.”