Moscow: Negotiations with Ukraine have stalled
03/25/2022, 19:29
Turkey expressed optimism about the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. However, Moscow and Kyiv report difficult talks. According to the Russian chief negotiator, the positions overlapped only on minor points. Besides, Ukraine is playing against time.
According to the chief Russian negotiator, the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are not progressing on key issues. “On secondary issues, the positions are consistent. But we are not making any progress on major political issues, “said Vladimir Miedinski, according to Russian news agencies. He accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying the peace talks.
“They are taking their time, they believe that time is on their side,” said the head of the Russian delegation, according to the TASS agency. The Ukrainian side does not work independently, argued Miediński. “Therefore, the current state of affairs is not optimistic.” Moscow accuses Kyiv of acting on Washington’s orders.
“There is no movement in the basic positions that the Russian side insists on,” said an advisor to President Vladimir Putin. Russia wants to sign a comprehensive treaty that takes into account Moscow’s “vital” demands. These included the neutral status of Ukraine, the “demilitarization” and “denazification” of the country, and the recognition of the annexed Black Sea peninsula in Crimea as the Russian and East Ukrainian separatist areas of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states. Kyiv is primarily interested in “getting security guarantees from third parties if Ukraine cannot become a NATO member,” Miedinski said. This attitude is “perfectly understandable.”
Kuleba: Ukraine is not giving up on its demands
Miediński criticized Ukraine’s demands for arms supplies and numerous allegations of Russia committing war crimes. The accusations sounded like statements by Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, said the former Russian culture minister. “I have neither justification nor understanding for such statements about our country and our nation.”
“The negotiation process is very difficult,” said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. The Ukrainian delegation “has taken a strong position and will not give up its demands,” Kuleba said. “First of all, we insist on a ceasefire, security guarantees and the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” added the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had previously announced that he believed Russia and Ukraine could reach agreement on four of the six main issues discussed. Kuleba said that did not happen.
After the first direct negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian negotiators, the talks now take place almost every day via a video link. Both sides were initially optimistic about the positive outcome of the talks, but over the past few days, disagreements have come to the fore.