Putin’s two requests that Ukraine refuses to accept
This Monday marks 26 days since the start of the war in Ukraine. In the last days of February, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin announced a “military offensive” on Ukrainian soil. During these weeks, the Russian army has taken some Ukrainian cities and follows the siege of the capital, kyivwhile negotiations are taking place to end the conflict.
These, however, are not producing great progress, since the attacks are still present on Ukrainian soil. From the Kremlin, there is a series of petitions which, if accepted, could end the war. However, from Ukraine, his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky is not willing to accept several of them: the independence of Donbas and Russia’s sovereignty over Crimea, a territory annexed in 2014.
During an interview with the network CNNthe president claims to be “prepared” to negotiate directly with Putin. Until now, the negotiations have been carried out by teams from both delegations, without having direct contacts between presidents. In this interview, he assures that will not assume “any commitment that affects the territorial integrity and sovereignty” of his country. “As president and citizen,” he points out, he cannot recognize the independence of these Ukrainian territories.
Russian petitions
The Kremlin has set various conditions to sign the end of the war, among which are the aforementioned independence of Donetsk and Lugansk, in Donbas, and the control over Crimea, in addition to the resignation of Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Regarding the latter, Zelensky has already given his arm to twist.
“We have seen that we can’t get in. It’s the truth and it must be recognized”, Zelensky said a few days ago. Now he changes his speech and assures that “it is NATO that has said that will not admit Ukraine“. The leader also thanked the NATO countries for their military and arms support, although he assures that the war would not have taken place if Ukraine had been accepted into the alliance.
On the importance of the negotiations with Russia, he points out the importance of “using any opportunity to negotiate and talk with Putin. If these attempts fail, that will mean the third world war“, Zelensky points out.
Turkey assures that they are “almost in agreement” on several points
Meanwhile, the information on the points to be negotiated is happening in some countries. According to him Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavusoglunegotiations between Ukraine and Russia are advancing to the point of be close to reaching “almost a deal” on four of the six points raised in the meetings held so far.
During the last week, Çavasoglu met with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Dimitro Kuleba, respectively, in Moscow and Lviv. From these meetings he considers that there has been “an important convergence in the positions of both parties on critical issues. We see that they almost agree on the first four points “, he assures. The rest of the questions, he points out, must be decided at the level of leaders, something that Zelensky has asked for repeatedly.
To get there, consider the Turkish diplomat, before a ceasefire should be declared that he thinks possible. “If the parties do not deviate from their current positions, we can say that we are hopeful of a ceasefire. If there is peace, if there is an agreement, they will meet. They do not rule out this possibility.“, acknowledges Çavasoglu. The issues discussed, according to Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for the Turkish president, are the following.
Zelensky suspends the activity of 11 pro-Russian parties
Finally, using the martial law that is in force in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky has suspended the activity of 11 pro-Russian political parties, including Opposition Platform-For Life, one of the pro-Russian parties with the highest representation in Parliament. “Given the large-scale war waged by the Russian Federation and the links of some political structures with this state, any activity of this group of political parties is suspended,” said the country’s leader.
In a video broadcast this Sunday on the website of the presidency, Zelensky announced the suspension of the following parties: “Opposition Platform – For Life”, “Sharia Party”, “Our”, “Opposition Bloc”, “Left Opposition”, “Union of Left Forces”, “State”, “Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine”. “Socialist Party”, “Socialists” and “Block of Vladimir Saldo”.