“Negotiations on troop withdrawal only.” Zelensky seeks terms of peace deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Politicians discussed how the conflict developed and agreed that for a peaceful resolution, Russia should withdraw its troops.

“They made it clear that an agreement can only be reached through negotiations with Russia’s immediate cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of troops,” German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Twitter.

Zelensky thanked Germany for its support and described the meeting as fruitful. “We discussed the situation on the front, more pressure on Russia, increased sanctions, hopes for a peaceful solution,” he wrote on the social network.

Previously, Scholz and Zelensky spoke by phone on May 11.

Negotiation request from Kiev

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko announced today that negotiations with the participation of the Russian Federation and Ukraine are currently “not in progress” “in any form”.

“Ukraine has de facto withdrawn from the negotiation process,” Rudenko said.

He also reminded that Moscow handed over the draft agreement to Kiev, but so far there has been no response. In addition, the Ukrainian side is trying to “clean up” the agreements already reached.

“I don’t want to go into details, but the Ukrainian side is really trying to blur the provisions that apparently had been agreed at earlier stages,” he said. TASS Rudenko made an analogy with the Minsk agreements, which, according to him, Kiev began to violate “literally from the moment of signing.”

“Of course, such a position does not contribute to achieving the desired result. Minister [иностранных дел России] Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov commented on this story in detail in a series of speeches and interviews, ”said Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov.

The Russian Federation has never denied contacts with the Ukrainian side, as Rudenko notes.

“This is confirmed by talks in Belarus and Turkey, as well as negotiations via videoconference. But for the results of such contacts a suitable basis is required, a constructive position of Kiev is required. Currently, this is not observed,” he added.

The diplomat also commented on the decision of the foreign ministers of the EU countries to allocate an additional € 500 million for the purchase of weapons to Kiev. Such a move, he said, would only lead to the continuation of hostilities in Ukraine. “The allocation of money and the direct supply of weapons delays the resolution of this conflict,” Rudenko said.

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The first round of Russia-Ukraine negotiations took place on February 28. A short time later, the main demands of Moscow were announced – the recognition of the independence of the Donbass republics, the recognition of Crimea as Russian, the consolidation of neutrality in the Ukrainian constitution and the refusal to join “any bloc”, as well as the cessation of hostilities on the Ukrainian side. Afterwards, the talks continued in a daily video conference format. During a face-to-face meeting in Istanbul on March 29, Ukraine offered to provide security to members of the UN Security Council, including Russia, Turkey and Germany. It was emphasized that the guarantee system would not work in the republics of Crimea and Donbass.

On April 12, Vladimir Putin said that Kiev’s move away from the agreements reached in Turkey had put the negotiation process in a deadlock.

Zelensky had previously warned that Kiev would withdraw from the negotiation process if there were independence referendums in the territories occupied by the Russian army. In particular, it concerned a possible referendum in the Kherson region. The politician stressed that Kiev will never recognize Crimea as part of Russia and will never accept the separation of Donbass.

Also on May 6, the President of Ukraine warned that he would not negotiate with the Russian side if the soldiers in Mariupol were killed.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to have any diplomatic talks after that, if they kill military and civilian people who can be bartered or simply freed, injured, killed, military and civilian,” the politician said.

Zelensky pointed out that the negotiations are still important for Kyiv: Ukraine is trying to get the troops to withdraw from the line from February 23 through diplomatic channels.