Deputy Prime Minister Ukraine, Irina Vereschuk (Rava-Ruska, 1979) is one of the most visible faces of the Turkish Government. Volodymyr Zelensky. In the early stages of the invasion, he was responsible for negotiating humanitarian corridors with Russia. He is also the head of the Ministry for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories. On the eve of the first anniversary of the start of the war, Prensa receives EL PERIÓDICO from the group Ibérica.
Ukraine signed a decree declaring the impossibility of negotiating with Vladimir Putin. How remote is the possibility of resumption of negotiations with Russia? What are Ukraine’s conditions for the resumption of dialogue?
Soldiers are our best negotiators and diplomats right now. They eliminate the enemy, that’s how they bargain. This is the only alternative we have today. The Kremlin and Russia left us no other choice. They saw and heard what their leader, a criminal like Putin, said and did. He is preparing for a great war. That’s what he said. So we need guns and we need them fast. This will eliminate the possibility of Russia attacking us and other countries and waging an aggressive war in the world.
So we can’t expect Ukraine to enter negotiations with Russia anytime soon?
Not possible right now.
Why is it impossible?
Russia does not want peace. Russia does not want to withdraw its army and weapons from Ukraine. Russia is trying to terrorize us and is threatening world democracies. They continue to prepare for a full-scale war. This is why any negotiation is doomed to failure. We will not participate in any negotiations.
Would you put any conditions on Russia to rekindle the dialogue?
The only condition is that Russia withdraw its troops and weapons from our lands. Then you can talk about the dialogue. Until then, no negotiations will make sense. Russia is killing our civilians, damaging our electrical infrastructure, trying to destroy us as a nation.
By Ukrainian territory, do you mean the entire region or just the area occupied after February 24 last year?
entire region. There is no way Russia can take even a meter of our independent land. This includes Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk and the entire territory of the borders recognized by the 1991 agreements.
A year ago, Putin gave the order to invade Ukraine. Since then, some political parties have been banned and martial law is in effect. Is it difficult to manage a democracy at war?
Not hard. It seems that now our democracy is under threat with the war. But what we want is democracy. We want our people to be able to elect their own government, to exercise their right to express themselves, and to have the rights and responsibilities written in our Constitution. Look, I’m dealing with very practical things like humanitarian aid, and I’ll give you an example: There are civilians in Bakhmut who are at very serious risk and we want to evacuate them, but the law doesn’t allow us to enforce it. abandoning or evicting their children without the written consent of their parents. This is how our democracy works.
What do you think about the recent corruption cases within the Ukrainian government?
This is another example. In this case, journalists and activists denounced cases of corruption and this had an immediate impact on government decisions. As you can see, the Deputy Secretary of Defense has been fired and is under investigation.
But are you worried about corruption in Ukraine?
Certainly. Corruption kills people’s trust in governments, especially in justice, authorities who have to protect people’s rights. And it is also a terrible weapon for the enemy.
You are also the minister of the occupied territories. What happens when they take back a territory? What about those accused of collaborating with Russia? Are they arrested?
Adhere to. Each case is examined individually. Justice decides whether a person is guilty or not. We are a democratic country and only a judge can decide whether a person is a collaborator or not. Admittedly, we have people cooperating in the reclaimed areas, but in any case, justice decides. I don’t think we should punish them too harshly because Russia is really responsible for what happened. They came and invaded our land.
Is your country preparing for a long war?
We are prepared for any development, but we really hope that support from our allies will help us and that this war will end in 2023. When we win, the rebuilding process will be long. We will have to resuscitate our people who have suffered so much.