OPU on negotiations: 4th round to take place in the next two days, discussions of Russian compensation for destruction

Roman Petrenko – Sunday, 13 March 2022, 12:45

Mykhailo Podoliak, Advisor to the Office of the President of Ukraine and negotiator with Russia, said that the next meeting will take place on 14-15 March. The delegations are also discussing Russian compensation for the destruction in Ukraine.

Source: Mykhailo Podoliak in an interview to the Russian pro-government publication Kommersant

According to Podoliak: "There are currently different propositions on the negotiating table, lots of them, with dozens of proposals. Including regarding a political settlement and, crucially, a military settlement. I mean a ceasefire, a ceasefire agreement and the withdrawal of troops. Currently all of these questions remain with their respective working groups.

As soon as the mutual legal formats of the respective negotiating propositions have been worked out, the date for the next meeting will be agreed – the fourth round of negotiations. This could happen tomorrow or the day after tomorrow [14-15 March]. There is probably no point to just go out there and negotiate. We have discussed all the issues, we are now trying to formulate our positions in legal terms."

Details: According to Podoliak, the delegations agreed to not comment on the agenda of the negotiations until all of the key positions have been agreed.

Podoliak also said that the agreement between Russia and Ukraine will have to be "multicomponent."

According to Podoliak: "[The agreement] has to include several positions. First of all, those concerning the end of the war as such. The second point is procedural: the speed of withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine. The third point is the peace agreement. How peace will be assured. And here we return to the key issue around which the negotiations revolve: how to guarantee the security of Ukraine and avoid a repetition of the current situation."

Details: Another – fourth – point also being discussed in the negotiations, according to Podoliak, is the extensive damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure and compensation from Russia.

According to Podoliak: "Unfortunately, despite all the declarations that only military infrastructure is being attacked, very often – and lately, particularly intensely – it is the civilian infrastructure that is being attacked. It is significantly damaged, in particular in the border regions and in parts of the central regions. Correspondingly, compensatory mechanisms must be clearly defined: at what cost and from whose budget all this will be restored. This, I’m sorry to say, amounts to billions of dollars, according to a preliminary estimate.

We have all the proposals that in one way or another protect these interests, ensure Ukraine’s safety and that such attacks will not be repeated in the future, and bring Ukraine into compensatory frameworks in the right way. And I emphasise again: the Russian side is already taking a much more adequate position. But it will take some time for them to fully understand the situation in which Russia, not Ukraine, finds itself."