Lack of subjectivity: why in Kyiv they declare their disagreement with the ceasefire

Ukraine will not agree to a ceasefire for the sake of resuming business relations between the West and Russia.

This was stated by adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak.

“On the sidelines of the WEF, there is talk about whether it is time to pause the fire, negotiate with the Kremlin and return to business with Russia.

Some new blindness virus?

Ukraine does not trade sovereignty so that someone can fill their wallet.

The shortest way to end the war is weapons, money, embargo,” Podolyak wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, Podolyak, in an interview with Reuters, said that Kyiv would not agree to a ceasefire and would not accept any agreement with Moscow that would involve territorial concessions.

He added that Russia must suffer a "painful" defeat.

In turn, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, in his speech in Davos, said that he would not negotiate with anyone except Vladimir Putin, and the only issue discussed at them would be the cessation of hostilities.

At the same time, in an interview with Japanese public television, Zelensky noted that Ukraine would sit down at the negotiating table with the Russian Federation after it returned the territories lost since February 24, when the Russian special military operation began.

Diplomat's word

Earlier, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger called for negotiations and a ceasefire in Ukraine on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

“Negotiations need to start within the next two months ... before it leads to intractable upheavals and tensions.

Ideally, the line of demarcation should return to the previous status quo.

If the war is taken beyond this limit, the question will not be about the freedom of Ukraine, but about a new war against Russia itself, ”explained a veteran of American diplomacy.

Kissinger added that it is necessary to avoid complete isolation of the Russian Federation.

“Ukraine was supposed to be a bridge between Europe and Russia, but now, when relations between countries are changing, the dividing line can be drawn differently, and Russia can be completely isolated,” the former head of the State Department emphasized.

• Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the Davos Forum in 2017

• AFP

• © FABRICE COFFRINI

In turn, the complete isolation of Russia may lead to the fact that it will look for permanent allies in other parts of the world, Henry Kissinger warned.

“Now we are in a situation where Russia can completely withdraw from Europe and try to conclude a permanent alliance in another part of the world.

This could lead to a diplomatic distance similar to that experienced during the Cold War, setting us back decades.

We should strive for long-term peace," the diplomat explained.

dead end process

Recall that Russia and Ukraine held several rounds of negotiations in various formats, but they did not lead to any concrete results.

Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said on April 20 that as part of the negotiation process, the Ukrainian side was given a document with "clear wording", a response to which is expected in Moscow.

However, then Russian officials said that the negotiation process had stalled.

So, on May 17, Andrei Rudenko, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, announced the actual withdrawal of the Kyiv regime from the negotiations.

“No, negotiations are not ongoing.

Ukraine has practically withdrawn from the negotiation process,” Rudenko told reporters on the sidelines of the Valdai Club conference.

Later, Rudenko explained that Moscow would be ready to return to negotiations with Kyiv after the Ukrainian side reacted to the documents submitted to it.

“It is not our initiative to freeze the current stage of negotiations and put it all on pause.

We will be ready to return as soon as Ukraine shows a constructive position, at least provides a reaction to our documents handed over to it,” he said.

In turn, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said that Moscow has never refused negotiations, but for further meetings, you must first prepare the necessary documents, without which they are meaningless.

“Russia has never refused negotiations, including at the highest level.

This has been repeatedly confirmed by Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

The only question is that in order to hold a summit meeting between the presidents, serious preparations are needed.

That is, documents of a high degree of readiness are required.

The heads of state should meet in order to reach final agreements and sign documents, and not to take pictures, ”Medinsky said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the same time said that Ukraine does not have an independent position in negotiations with the Russian side and is in a subordinate position with the UK and the US.

This is evidenced by the change in the position of Kyiv after the meeting in Istanbul, at which the Ukrainian side for the first time handed over to the delegation of the Russian Federation a paper with principles for a further agreement.

At the same time, the transfer of negotiations on the future of Ukraine to the level of the United States and Great Britain does not make sense, since they "declared their goal to defeat Russia," Sergey Lavrov explained.

“In addition, neither London, nor Washington, nor the West as a whole put forward any proposals,” Lavrov said.

"Washington's task"

Mikhail Podolyak's new statement about disagreement with a possible ceasefire demonstrates Kyiv's lack of autonomy from decision-making centers in London and Washington, said Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, in an interview with RT.

“This is exactly the task for the Ukrainian leadership from Washington.

They will not agree to a ceasefire, as for them it will mean surrender.

Therefore, Washington will give money to continue the conflict, although each next tranche will be more and more difficult to give.

But they will demand that the resistance does not stop to the last, ”the expert explained.

• Speech by Volodymyr Zelensky at the forum in Davos

• AP

• © Markus Schreiber

The Zelensky administration does not have the ability to make any decisions on negotiations with the Russian Federation, Vladimir Bruter emphasized.

“Kyiv is not subject enough to make such decisions.

Whether they agree or not is an open question.

There are different opinions, different people, they compete with each other, intrigue against each other.

Therefore, it is impossible to say that the Kyiv regime is united.

There is a task from Washington and control by the United States.

Everything else no longer depends on what they think in Kyiv.

Kyiv will continue to do what it is told,” the political scientist said.

In turn, the deputy director of the RUDN Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts, a member of the MGER political council, Victoria Fedosova, in a conversation with RT, drew attention to Henry Kissinger's call for detente.

“It is interesting that Henry Kissinger offers a sane path: as a politician of the old school, from the time of detente between the USSR and the USA, he remembers realism in international relations and understands how the ongoing course of pumping Ukraine with weapons will turn out when Russia has already moved to action” , the political scientist noted.

Back in 2014, Kissinger wrote an article saying that Ukraine should remain neutral and not join NATO, Victoria Fedosova recalled.

However, such positions in the Western establishment are now in the minority, the RT interlocutor added.

“The US establishment has lost touch with reality, and Ukraine has become a victim of their political myopia and manipulation.

Perhaps the opinion of such politicians as Kissinger will become more popular in the fall before the next elections to the US Senate,” the expert believes.

At the same time, Mikhail Podolyak’s statements that Ukraine will not exchange sovereignty for someone’s full wallet are difficult to take seriously, Victoria Fedosova noted.

“It is precisely this tactic that Kyiv has chosen today, there is no question of any objective sovereignty and ensuring the security of citizens.

Kyiv does not agree to a ceasefire, because Russia's demands raise the question for the authorities - to become sane and agree or go the intended course towards the loss of all signs of statehood by Ukraine and voluntary division, ”concluded the political scientist.