Concrete offer delivered Russia wants to negotiate again with Ukraine
04/20/2022, 14:43
There was radio silence between Russia and Ukraine for more than three weeks. The Kremlin is now presenting a new offer for negotiations. Russia does not want to set a deadline, but the aggressor in the Ukraine war continues to press on.
According to its own statements, Russia gave Ukraine a written offer for a negotiated solution to the war. “Now the Ukrainian side has received our draft document, which contains absolutely clear and sophisticated wording,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Interfax. He did not elaborate on the content of the Russian proposals.
Peskov explained that there was no deadline for Kiev to respond to the offer. At the same time, however, he made it clear that Moscow was dissatisfied with the pace of negotiations so far. “We have said several times that the Ukrainian team’s work dynamic leaves a lot to be desired,” said Peskov. Now “the ball is in the side” of the Ukrainians.
Moscow Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova previously said that Russia no longer had confidence in Ukrainian negotiators. They constantly changed their point of view and didn’t stick to negotiated agreements, she said.
“Russia refuses any sign of humanity”
According to Ukraine’s chief negotiator Mykhailo Podoliak, the situation in Mariupol is hampering future negotiations with Russia. “Of course, in the context of the Mariupol tragedy, the negotiation process has become even more complicated,” he wrote in response to questions from the Reuters news agency. “Russia defiantly refuses any sign of humanity and humanity when it comes to certain humanitarian corridors. Especially when we talk about Mariupol.”
Talks between Moscow and Kiev began on February 28, four days after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on Ukraine. In negotiations so far, Russia has demanded, among other things, the neutrality of Ukraine and the cession of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as the recognition of the Crimean Peninsula as Russian. Kiev categorically refuses to give up its own territory. No direct trading has taken place since March 29. Both sides took responsibility for this.