“The ball is on the Ukrainian side.” What is the status of the negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv?

Vladimir Medinsky said that Russia has not abandoned talks with Ukraine, but that Kiev is “in no hurry” and slows the process. interview Belarusian TV channel ONT.

“Russia has never refused negotiations. <...> Again <...> On the Ukrainian side there is no desire to continue the dialogue. <...> It seems they are in no rush. The ball is completely on their side. On our part, we are ready to continue the dialogue.

However, I emphasize once again: The ball that will continue the peace talks is on the Ukrainian side. “The freezing of negotiations is entirely Ukraine’s initiative,” Medinsky said.

He noted that the Russian delegation delivered to Kiev a draft of a future peace agreement a month ago, on which “a number of key positions have already been agreed”.

“We intended to continue. <...> [Но] they did not even formally approve the draft agreement agreed upon by them. We could not agree on the break from our colleagues, ”Medinsky summarized.

“socialbites.ca” in detail Wrote about the Russian version of the agreement. Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov spoke about him on April 20. He explained that the draft submitted to Kiev contained “absolutely clear and detailed formulations”.

Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine, a member of the negotiating team, explained that this is how Russia responded to what the Ukrainian side had already pointed out to him. According to him, the Ukrainian delegation “delivered to the competitors their proposals for formulaic solutions” at the March meeting in Istanbul. “The Russian side studied the proposals and expressed their mutual positions. Then it’s our turn to review, compare and draw conclusions. Including the political and legal nature,” Podolyak summarized in April.

In his last speech, Medinsky also touched upon the subject of negotiations between Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The head of the Russian delegation stressed that Russia also never refused to meet at this level.

“The only question is that serious preparations are needed to hold a summit meeting between presidents. That is, a high degree of readiness documentation is required. “Heads of state should come together not to take pictures, but to reach final agreements and sign documents,” Medinsky said.

Therefore, he reiterated the Russian position that the parties should agree on the final version of the peace agreement before the negotiations between Zelensky and Putin.

Kyiv insists on a different approach. “These [российская сторона] I want to discuss when there is already a final agreement on all points. “I’ll be honest, with all due respect to all the negotiators, all the negotiation processes, I couldn’t have decided everything for me,” he said.

He explained that in Russia only Putin “decided when this war will end”, so their personal meetings were necessary.

The Ukrainian side commented on the new statements of Medinsky. podoliac reported In an interview with Reuters, he said that Kiev would resume negotiations only after the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.

“[Российские] “The forces must leave the country and after that it will be possible to restart the peace process,” he said.

Podolyak also made “very strange” calls for Ukraine to immediately cease fires in the conflict zone. Similar requests came from the USA and Italy. The presidential adviser believes that Russia will use all the concessions from Kiev and use the hostilities only to build up its forces and then continue the offensive.