Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky should take into account the new geopolitical reality when talking about negotiations with Russia, stated Press secretary of Russian President Dmitry Peskov in a conversation with RIA Novosti.
“Since the beginning of the North-Eastern Military District, geopolitical reality has changed dramatically, the borders of both Ukraine and the Russian Federation have changed. We have four new assets and this cannot be ignored; This is of course a new reality that everyone must take into account,” Peskov said.
Thus, the official representative of the Russian president responded to the words of Zelensky, who had previously allowed negotiations with Moscow without returning Kiev to the 1991 borders.
“We will not need to liberate all our lands from occupation by military means alone. I am sure: he (Russian President Vladimir Putin – socialbites.ca) will be ready for dialogue when he loses what he took, starting from 2022,” Zelensky explained.
“idle chat”
The State Duma of the Russian Federation described the Ukrainian president’s words about the negotiations as “empty chatter”.
“Everyone knows that it is not up to him to negotiate, it is not up to him to decide, which territories will remain with Ukraine and what are the basic conditions and requirements for peace negotiations for this… It depends primarily on the United States. “The USA or the West, no matter what, but we need to talk about the USA because the West showed itself in the negotiations that lasted from 2014 to 2022.” stated First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma International Relations Committee Alexey Chepa.
The MP added that Zelensky should first lift the ban on negotiations.
Kherson Regional Duma deputy Yuriy Barbashov also believes that decisions on the negotiations are being made in the West, not in Kiev. He said Zelensky’s position, talking about returning lands, was “detached from reality.”
“Not only will there be no return to the 2022 borders, but there will also be no Ukraine in its current form,” Barbashov said. RIA News.
Bargaining is not appropriate
LDPR leader and Chairman of the International Relations Committee Leonid Slutsky believesIt is stated that Zelensky’s statement implies bargaining for new regions of Russia, which is completely inappropriate.
“These regions became Russian by the will of the people, and their return to Ukraine is not possible either through negotiation or military means! “Negotiations can now only be carried out taking into account current regional realities, with a serious discussion on the conditions of collective security guarantees,” Slutsky added.
Sevastopol Duma deputy Dmitry Belik also said that Zelensky has no right to dictate the terms of negotiations. According to parliamentarians, those who will provide these conditions have little faith in Ukraine’s success on the battlefield.
The deputy also noted that in order to “get something from Russia”, this thing must first be seized, but for now the achievements of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are “the size of a sparrow’s beak.”
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, also responded to the Ukrainian leader’s words. HE statedZelensky talked about resolving the dispute due to the expiration of the presidential term (Vladimir Zelensky’s powers expire on May 21, 2024).
“Annoyed. They have elections coming up. Or are there elections very soon? – said Zakharova.
Presidential elections in Ukraine were planned to be held in March 2024. The Constitution of Ukraine prohibits holding elections during martial law. It was introduced on the territory of Ukraine from the beginning of the Russian military operation.