Russia and Ukraine reached a consensus in the second round of negotiations Putin: The key is to talk about this...

　　China News Service, March 4 (Reporter Meng Xiangjun) On March 3, local time, the belated second round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine was held.

According to foreign media reports, in this round of negotiations, the two sides reached an agreement on the important issue of establishing a humanitarian corridor and agreed to continue the next round of negotiations.

　　Earlier, the two sides held the first round of negotiations in Gomel Oblast, Belarus, and identified a series of priority issues.

　　At present, Russia's military operations in Ukraine continue.

The situation is complicated. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pointed out that there are "very powerful forces that want to disrupt this (negotiation) process". He hopes that Zelensky can hold on to it and keep the dialogue window open.

On March 3, local time, the Russian-Ukrainian delegation held the second round of negotiations in Belarus.　　

[Determine priority]

　　On March 3, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia is willing to include the security issue of Ukraine and even the whole of Europe into the agenda.

At the same time, "Russian security is also indispensable."

　　Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a telephone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron on the same day, detailed the principled position and conditions for negotiations with representatives of Kyiv.

Putin believes that, for sure, the first thing to talk about is the demilitarization and neutrality of Ukraine, so that "there will never be a threat to Russia from its territory".

　　On February 28, Russia and Ukraine started the first day of negotiations in Gomel Oblast on the border of Belarus and Ukraine. The negotiation lasted for 5 hours. The two sides identified a series of priority issues and found some "predictable common positions".

　　The Ukrainian side demanded that Russia take the lead in a ceasefire and withdraw Russian troops in Ukraine and Crimea and Donbass.

　　Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed three conditions: recognition of Russia's sovereignty over Crimea; Ukraine's "demilitarization" and "denazification"; Ukraine's guarantee of neutrality.

　　Judging from the existing information, Crimea is one of the key concerns of the two sides, and it is expected to be fiercely tug-of-war. At the same time, Russia and Ukraine have huge differences in the ranking of priority issues.

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

【What are your chips?】

　　Militarily, Russia's special operations are still ongoing.

At present, the Russian army has destroyed more than 1,000 Ukrainian military facilities, completely blocked the exit of the Ukrainian army to the Sea of ​​Azov, occupied many strategically important places, and precisely hit some facilities in the capital Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that all major cities in Ukraine have been blocked.

　　On the other hand, military aid from many Western countries poured into Ukraine one after another.

These military aids are mainly divided into five categories, such as air defense weapons including "Stinger" man-portable air defense missiles, anti-tank rocket launchers, large ground equipment such as howitzers and armored vehicles, individual equipment such as light weapons and protective equipment, fuel and field rations Waiting for logistical supplies, etc.

　　However, on foreign media and social media, there have also been voices that Western military aid is "outdated, not needed at this stage, the Ukrainian army cannot operate, and the rumors of military supply are untrue."

　　While the West is "arming" Ukraine, Zelensky is also splitting the diplomatic line.

While expressing his willingness to negotiate with Putin himself, he repeatedly called on the EU to allow Ukraine to naturalize and sign relevant documents quickly.

For wanting to talk with Putin, the Russian side responded that there are currently no plans to arrange a dialogue between the two; for the absorption of Ukraine into the EU, according to foreign media, eight Central and Eastern European countries expressed support.

　　On March 1, the European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution, saying that EU institutions would "endeavour to grant" Ukrainian candidate status.

The resolution was not decisive for Ukraine's accession to the Union.

　　European Commission President von der Leyen said that the EU-Ukraine relationship is unprecedentedly close, but the current priority is to end the conflict, and Ukraine's entry into the EU should be "a topic for discussion in the next stage."

On March 1, local time, the square of the government building in the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine was shelled.

【The situation is complicated】

　　Speaking of the Russia-Ukraine negotiations, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's speech attracted attention.

He noted that there are "very powerful forces that want to derail this process, and I hope Zelensky and his team can hold on to it and not let the negotiating process come to an end."

　　Dong Chunling, an associate researcher at the Institute of American Studies of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, pointed out that the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will be very difficult. The United States and the West intend to obstruct the rapid conclusion of the negotiation, hoping to use the conflict to delay Russia in order to achieve the purpose of consuming Russia.

　　He further pointed out that observing the process of Ukraine and Russia moving towards negotiations, it is not difficult to find the motives of the United States and the West for the long-term war.

　　At first, the Ukrainian President sought protection from the United States and the West to no avail, and in desperation began to seek negotiations with Russia.

This made the United States and Europe unable to sit still on the sidelines, and made a gesture of supporting Ukraine. The European Parliament threw out a vision for Ukraine to join the EU, which made Ukraine quickly raise the negotiating price.

　　As a result, Dong Chunling concluded that the United States and the West would rather have a protracted proxy war than a Ukraine that would fall to Russia. This is a major crux of the ongoing conflict.

　　Zhang Hong, a researcher at the Institute of Russian, Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is actually a general outbreak of contradictions between Russia and the West. To make greater adjustments to its Russia policy, Ukraine has to negotiate with the United States and the West.

The Zelensky government will not easily and unconditionally agree to Russia's demands.

Affected by the situation in Russia and Ukraine, some Ukrainian people evacuated to safe areas.

【The trouble should end it】

　　As East Slav "brothers", neither Russia nor Ukraine has handled their relationship with each other well, Zhang Hong believes.

But assuming that Ukraine does not abandon the balanced diplomatic path, and does not fall back to the West, the cost will be much smaller.

　　"Both left and right" is the best way to meet Ukraine's national interests. It can not only get cheaper energy from Russia, but also get Western economic assistance, Zhang Hong pointed out.

　　Zhang Hong believes that if Russia can respect Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and Ukraine can abandon its pro-Western policy, abandon its membership in the European Union and NATO and return to neutrality, there is still a glimmer of hope for improvement in Russia-Ukraine relations.

After all, at first "it was the West who deceived Ukraine".

(over)