The Kremlin commented on the initiative of the Ukrainian president to hold a referendum on dialogue with the Russian Federation. As the press secretary of Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, said, this issue relates to the internal affairs of Ukraine.
“This is an internal affair of Ukraine, of course. Of course, we would expect concrete steps from Kiev, primarily in the implementation of the Minsk agreements, the settlement of the internal Ukrainian problem, and also in terms of the normalization of bilateral relations with Russia, ”he said.
If the idea to hold a referendum will be implemented, it is important that it be understood, added Peskov.
Earlier, the head of the presidential administration of Ukraine Andrei Bogdan said that Vladimir Zelensky intends to initiate a referendum on negotiations with Moscow.
“We are considering submitting to a people's referendum so that not only deputies vote, not just the president, that the people of Ukraine make this decision,” the official said.
Citizens will be asked to vote on the issue of concluding peace agreements with Moscow and resolving the conflict in the Donbas. To organize a plebiscite, the new Ukrainian authorities have to pass a law on a referendum, Bogdan added.
“Leave nationalist slogans”
According to the deputy director of the Institute of CIS Countries Vladimir Zharikhin, it is too early to talk about what results Zelensky’s idea will bring to bring issues of relations with Moscow to a referendum.
“During the voting, the people will answer the question posed -“ yes ”or“ no ”. But it is not known how Zelensky will formulate a problem to which the citizens of Ukraine must unequivocally answer, ”the expert explained in an interview with RT.
A similar point of view is shared by the source RT in the Ukrainian party “Self-help”.
“Vladimir Zelensky does nonsense. In fact, for a society that was told about the enemy for five years - Russia, it will be difficult to come to terms with the peace agreement, ”he said in an interview with RT.
It is also unclear what issues the president intends to put to the vote. We can talk about a meeting of the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, as well as a specific plan, the representative of “Self-help” notes.
“And how is Zelensky going to discuss Crimea? Imagine if he recognizes him as Russian. I don't even know which country he will have to flee to. So this is not a feasible initiative, ”said the source RT.
In turn, the director of the Kiev Center for Political Studies and Conflictology, Mikhail Pogrebinsky, believes that the Zelensky plan itself is an interesting and reasonable one. However, a referendum can provoke unrest among nationalists, the expert noted.
“Zelensky does not dare to take responsibility for direct negotiations with Moscow,” the expert said in a conversation with RT. - Perhaps this is due to the fact that he has no serious support behind his back, except for the huge number of voters who voted for him and went home. Therefore, he wants to enlist the support of the population as an argument. ”
Zelensky does not yet know how to manage the political capital that he received as a result of the election campaign, says Leonid Polyakov, head of the department of general political science at HSE. According to the expert, the new president of Ukraine can do many things without regard to the opinion of opponents - for example, he calmly announced the dissolution of the Rada, knowing that it is not popular.
- Reuters
- © Valentyn Ogirenk
However, on the issue of relations with Russia, Zelensky cannot act so bravely, Polyakov believes. According to him, any step can push half of Zelensky’s electorate.
“Zelensky is in a difficult situation - between two fires, despite the fact that it is impossible to resolve issues of Donbass without a dialogue with Moscow. Zelensky understands that if he makes a decision now, it can cause unpredictable consequences for him, especially during the election campaign to the Rada. Therefore, the proposal to hold a referendum is a delicate tactical move during the election campaign in order to delay decision-making. It is clear that a lot of time is needed to prepare a referendum, and this is what the stake is made of, ”the expert suggested.
The RT source in the Ukrainian Cabinet believes that, having started talking about a possible dialogue with Moscow, Zelensky made the right move. According to him, sooner or later the issue of the resumption of negotiations with Russia would be raised: Ukrainian business circles are interested in this, and the economic situation requires it. The interlocutor of RT believes that the last five years have shown that it is impossible to compensate for the losses of the Ukrainian economy from breaking ties with Russia.
“Therefore, we will have to leave the nationalist slogans and sit down at the negotiating table. Business has long been demanding this from the country's leadership. Apparently, Zelensky decided to raise this issue, ”a RT source in the Ukrainian government said.
Compulsory Compromise
In the meantime, Kiev intends to use the "carrot and stick" tactic with respect to Russia. This was previously stated by the head of the presidential administration of Ukraine, Andrei Bogdan.
According to the official, the recent appeal of Zelensky to the United States with a request to strengthen anti-Russian sanctions was due to the silence of Moscow in response to the proposals of the Ukrainian side. In particular, according to the Ukrainian side, Moscow did not agree to start negotiations on the release of Ukrainian citizens detained during the incident in the Kerch Strait.
“We must move towards the goal. And to achieve the goal, all available methods are acceptable to us. As we know, there are two ways - carrot and stick. On the one hand, we, of course, send all the signals to the power of Russia that we are ready to talk and we are ready for compromises, ”Rog Novosti quoted Bohdan as saying.
However, Kiev is ready to use against Moscow and pressure methods - not directly, but through appeals to the international community. The goal is to force the leadership of Russia to "make certain decisions."
Recall, on the eve of Vladimir Zelensky met with representatives of the American administration, who arrived at the inauguration ceremony of the President of Ukraine. In his address to the US delegation, Zelensky asked the United States for help in fighting the “Russian aggression”.
“I would like to urge you that the United States continue to tighten sanctions against Russia,” Zelensky said then.
At the same time, speaking at the inauguration, Zelensky declared that he was ready for a dialogue on the settlement of the situation in the Donbass, and the first step along this path should be to return home to the persons held.
Commenting on this statement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that the new Ukrainian leader should have started a conversation on the exchange of detainees on the principle of “all for all”, as provided for by the Minsk agreements.
“It would be correct, in a Christian way, to begin with the provision of documents on the exchange of detainees on the principle of everyone for all,” Lavrov believes.
According to Pogrebinsky, the Zelensky administration is still ready to make concessions in the dialogue with Russia.
- © Zoya Shu / Pool via REUTERS
“If Andrei Bogdan had said that Kiev would act with Moscow only on the“ whip ”principle, this would mean an uncompromising policy towards Russia. However, the statement said “carrots and sticks”, which means that Ukraine is ready to find some kind of compromise solution, ”the expert believes.
At the same time, the very statement of Bogdan says that the Zelensky administration is still not familiar with foreign policy realities, experts say.
“No state, including the United States, can speak to Russia in such a tone using terms like“ carrot and carrot, ”Leonid Polyakov emphasized.
Personnel approach
Meanwhile, Vladimir Zelensky has already managed to make a number of personnel appointments. In particular, he appointed Ruslan Homchak, Chief of the General Staff, Representative of the Electoral Headquarters on Energy, Andrei Gerus, First Deputy Head of the Security Service (SBU), one of the founders of the Quarter 95 Studio, Ivan Bakanov, as the Head of State’s representative in the Cabinet.
However, not all personnel changes will be positively perceived by the American partners of Kiev, experts say. The former cabinet was formed largely under the leadership of Washington. Thus, Ulyana Suprun, a US citizen, became acting minister of health of Ukraine.
Now the biggest irritation of the American side can be caused by the appointment to the post of head of the presidential administration Andrei Bogdan, who during the election campaign advised the comedian on legal issues. Previously, he worked in a team of Igor Kolomoisky - he was his adviser when he was head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, and then became a personal lawyer of the oligarch.
As reported by the publication ZN.UA, citing sources surrounded by the special representative of the State Department for Ukrainian affairs Kurt Volcker, the diplomat strongly recommended Zelensky not to appoint Bogdan to the post of head of the AP.
Similar information was shared with RT by a source in the Batkivshchyna party.
“As far as I know, the United States is very unhappy with the first appointments of the new president in the Presidential Administration,” the source explained.
The fact is that Kolomoisky has a difficult relationship with the American side.
So, an investigation was initiated against him by the FBI - this was reported, citing sources, The Daily Beast. Kolomoisky himself, in an interview with the Scheme TV program, said that the FBI may indeed be conducting an investigation against him, although he did not commit any violations of the law.
In addition, on May 20 it became known about the accusations against US Kolomoisky by US citizens Igor Fruman and Lev Parnass in preparation for the murder.
Attorney Donald Trump Rudolph Giuliani hurried to intercede for Fruman and Parnassus, calling for Zelensky to arrest Kolomoisky.
“Billionaire, Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, who is under investigation by the FBI. He returned to Ukraine from exile in Israel, and the first thing he did was to threaten American citizens. This is a real test for the president. Will he be arrested? ”Wrote a lawyer.
According to Vladimir Zharikhin, Kolomoisky returned to Ukraine after he felt dissatisfaction with the American side in relation to his person.
“He returned to Kiev and immediately put his own lawyer at the head of the presidential administration. Obviously, the interests of the oligarch and Washington now diverge. But despite all the resources and power of Kolomoisky, he cannot win this fight, ”the expert is sure.
It’s too early to draw conclusions, believes, in turn, Leonid Polyakov. If Poroshenko once summed up the rush with which he supported Hillary Clinton, greatly ruining his relationship with Trump, Zelensky has so far avoided abrupt steps.
- Igor Kolomoisky.
- © REUTERS / Mikhail Palinchak / Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / Handout via Reuters
“It’s hard to talk about how Zelensky’s and Trump’s relations will develop. Now it is necessary to watch how the scandal around Kolomoisky will unwind, ”Polyakov said.
According to Mikhail Pogrebinsky, Washington is clearly dissatisfied with the strengthening of Kolomoisky’s positions in Ukraine. This is indicated even by the fact that Trump's lawyer and friend personally demanded the arrest of the oligarch.
“Of course, having received the position of the head of the presidential administration, Andrei Bogdan may cease to depend on Kolomoisky. But now he is really cooperating with a former client who will soon receive leverage on the work of the presidential administration in Ukraine, ”the expert concluded.