Russia insists on demands which are unacceptable for Ukraine

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO – TUESDAY, 15 MARCH 2022, 20:58

Russia insists on its demands for the mythical "denazification" of Ukraine, the recognition of Crimea as a part of Russia and recognition of the independence of the certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Source: Vladimir Medinsky, Russia's presidential aide and chief negotiator at the peace talks, Interfax

Quote: "We insist on a comprehensive agreement, which, in addition to Ukraine's neutral status and security guarantees, provides a number of points vital to our country - demilitarisation, denazification, recognition of Crimea and Donbas, as well as a number of other points of agreement. I think that signing the agreement is not possible without considering these points and taking them into account."

Details: According to Medinsky, the Ukrainian side "is primarily concerned about obtaining security guarantees from third countries in case of Ukraine's non-accession to NATO."

The Russian negotiator acknowledged that "this is a very clear position."

Medinsky also said that Russia sees the alleged desire of Ukrainian colleagues to delay negotiations.

"They (Ukrainians - ed.) are in no hurry. They believe that time is on their side and openly say that they have many decision-making centres with whom to coordinate certain decisions. These are our realities at the moment," he said.

"Unfortunately, as far as we understand, they do not hide that they are limited in making independent decisions. Therefore, we don’t feel optimistic about the current state of affairs so far," said the Russian presidential aide.

He also added that he did not share the optimism of the Ukrainian delegation, who said they were "making great progress."

"There has been no progress towards the principled positions that the Russian side insists on" Medinsky stressed.

Background:

•       On Friday, 25 March, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Ukraine is ready to agree to 4 out of Russia’s 6 demands – in particular, to renounce NATO membership and recognise Russian as the second official language.
•       Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that as of 25 March, there is no consensus with Russia on the four points of negotiations mentioned by the President of Turkey.
•       Earlier President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that compromises reached in the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia regarding security guarantees and the temporarily occupied territories can be put to an all-Ukrainian referendum in their final shape.
• President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also stressed that Ukraine will not compromise its territorial integrity and sovereignty.