Calls for Kiev to cede part of the region to Russia show that the West is already fed up with the Ukraine crisis, which has been exacerbated by the start of Russia’s special operations. This was stated by Ivan Baker, deputy of the Canadian Parliament of the Liberal Party.
“So, French President Emmanuel Macron said recently that it is necessary to calm down. [Россию]”, – said the politician on the broadcast of the TV channel “Ukraine 24”.
He confirmed that the transfer of part of his territory by Ukraine was discussed. Baker added that this issue worries him.
In an interview with the French edition of Ouest France, Macron said that Russia should not be humiliated and pressured. In his opinion, it is necessary to find a diplomatic way out of the situation, which will happen at the end of special operations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims that the West forced Kiev to make peace with Moscow on favorable terms for the Russian side.
“Everyone wants to push us as little as possible towards a conclusion, which is certainly not desirable for us because we haven’t been asked yet, but it’s beneficial for certain parties that have their own interests,” Zelensky said.
He is sure that some allies want financial interests, while others are political. According to the politician, this is because the world is fed up with the crisis in Ukraine, and the West already wants “some” results. But Kiev needs its own conclusion, which corresponds to the position of the Ukrainian side.
Meanwhile, Hugh De Santis, an expert on NATO and arms control at the State Department, is convinced that NATO member states must force Ukraine into negotiations with Russia in order for Kiev to give Moscow territory and gain neutral status.
“A military victory for Ukraine is unlikely and the only realistic goal is to reach a conclusion through negotiations,” he says.
In addition, according to the expert, the North Atlantic Alliance should limit the supply of weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which can be “a lever of pressure on Kyiv”, and improve relations with the Russian leadership.
In Ukraine, such calls are perceived negatively. “You cannot offer anything to protect your comfortable social media feed from bad news and continue business with Russia,” Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Presidential Office of Ukraine, said on his Telegram channel.
He also drew attention to the rhetoric of Western partners, who claimed that they “wanted to return to the old, pre-war way of life”, so Ukraine must make concessions.
Podolyak stressed that Kiev will not participate in this discussion, as it does not intend to trade in citizens, lands or sovereignty. “Thanks for the advice, but maybe we’ll accept a weapon,” he replied to his partners’ calls.
Zelensky previously said he was ready to meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. According to him, if Western countries continue to supply Ukraine with weapons and tighten sanctions against Russia, they may encourage Moscow to accelerate this process.
At the same time, shortly before this statement, the president of Ukraine expressed his principled position: negotiations can take place only after the return of the country’s borders “to the state before February 24.”
The Kremlin insists that in order to negotiate, the parties must prepare a “concrete written document” on resolving the situation in Ukraine.