Russia sends draft peace agreement to Ukraine

Comments on meetings Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine stalled, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that Moscow had passed on to Kiev a “draft text” with specific wording.

“The ball is in Ukraine’s court, we are waiting for their reaction,” Peskov said on April 20. Asked if there was a deadline for Ukraine to respond, Peskov said it was up to Kiev. However, he noted, “Ukraine has shown no inclination to promote the negotiation process.” The spokesman accused Ukraine of “constant change”, concluding that the inconsistency “is having very bad consequences in terms of the effectiveness of the negotiations”.

Peskov’s comments echoed remarks made by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier the same day, saying that Russia had lost confidence in Ukrainian negotiators. Speaking to news channel Rossiya 24, Ms. Zakharova used the Russian adage “trust, but verify” but shortened it to “verify”, “because we didn’t have any trust.” for these people for a long time.”

Zakharova believes that the Ukrainian government does not act independently but is controlled from the outside. She described the “Kiev authorities” handling of the negotiations as a “circus”, saying that the Ukrainian authorities were constantly changing positions. Moreover, Ms. Zakharova believes that Kiev’s participation in the negotiations is just a diversion. However, she added that Moscow is “ready for it” because the Minsk agreement has ended.

Since the beginning of the military conflict on February 24, Russia and Ukraine have held several rounds of direct and direct talks aimed at resolving the crisis. March 29 was the last time the two negotiating teams met face-to-face. On April 12, Russian President Putin said that the negotiations had reached an impasse. Putin explained that Ukraine had refused to fulfill a number of important Russian demands, including recognizing Crimea as part of Russia and the Donbass republics as independent.

Putin’s comments came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s announcement that Kiev had submitted new written proposals that differed from those presented in face-to-face negotiations. According to Lavrov, the new proposal does not mention Crimea.

Speaking at a meeting on April 19, Ukrainian presidential adviser Alexey Arestovich warned that peace talks with Moscow could be halted if Russian troops occupied it. Mariupola port city strategically located on the Black Sea.

On the same day, March 19, aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mikhail Podolyak, revealed that there is no set date for the resumption of negotiations.

Same time, President Zelensky told CNN in an exclusive interview in Kiev on April 15 that “we have to at least find some dialogue with Russia.”

A peace deal with Russia could consist of two separate documents covering two main issues – security guarantees for Kiev and future relations with Moscow, Zelensky revealed the next day. Speaking to Ukrainian media, Mr. Zelensky stated that the Kremlin wanted a comprehensive document covering all issues. However, because of the security guarantees involved in other countries, two-document peace agreement could be a solution.

Having security guarantees from world powers is seen by Kiev as an important condition for agreeing to neutrality and abandoning its ambitions to join NATO.

Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine at the end of February, after accusing Kiev of failing to fulfill the terms of the Minsk agreement, first signed in 2014 and eventually Moscow’s recognition of the the self-proclaimed Donbass republics Donetsk and Lugansk. The Minsk agreement brokered by Germany and France was designed to give the breakaway regions special status in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country and will never join the military bloc. NATO led by the US. Kiev insists the Russian attack is completely unprovoked and rejects claims it is planning to retake the two republics in the Donbass by force.