NATO Secretary-General secretly advised Ukraine to "compromise", former Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada MP: The West is preparing to surrender
[Global Times special correspondent in the United States Xiao Da Chen Kang Liu Yupeng] "Peace is possible, it depends on how much Ukraine is willing to compromise on its territory and sovereignty." NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg's remarks on the 12th made Ukraine and the Western media were shocked.
Previously, the West has always claimed to help Ukraine "win this war" or "will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian".
However, in recent days, as the Russian military has made steady progress in eastern Ukraine, especially the conflict has triggered a surge in global oil and natural gas prices and high inflation, and has led to lower and lower public opinion ratings for the governments of the United States and Europe, they are more interested in Russia. The attitude of the Ukrainian conflict began to change.
Not long ago, the United States and Europe put aside Ukraine to discuss the terms of a truce and diplomatic mediation alone.
U.S. President Biden also complained recently that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "doesn't listen to advice."
In this regard, Pushkov, a member of the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament), said: "Many countries have realized that Ukraine cannot win, and they are considering various options to get out of the crisis."
"What price are you willing to pay for peace"
On the 12th, NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg and Finnish President Niinisto held a meeting in Helsinki.
At a press conference after the meeting, Stoltenberg said rarely: "Peace is possible. The only question is, what price are you willing to pay for peace? Territorially, in independence and sovereignty, are you willing to How many sacrifices for peace?"
Stoltenberg did not specify what conditions Ukraine should accept.
He said "the judgment should be made by those who pay the highest price" and that NATO and Western countries continued to supply Ukraine with arms to "strengthen its power" when a deal is finally negotiated.
In his speech, Stoltenberg cited the example of Finland ceding Karelia to the Soviet Union during World War II, describing it as "one of the reasons why Finland was able to emerge from World War II as an independent and sovereign state."
In addition, Stoltenberg's stance on Finland and Sweden's applications to join NATO is also stepping back.
He said the security of Finland and Sweden was important, but Turkey "raised legitimate security concerns".
Regarding the statement of the NATO secretary-general, Pushkov, a member of the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament), posted on social media on the 12th, saying that this shows that the West's position on the Ukraine issue has undergone a "change".
According to the Russian "Izvestia", Kiva, a former member of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada (Parliament), also said the same day that the NATO Secretary-General's remarks showed that the West "is preparing to surrender on the Ukraine issue."
Ukraine "what else can be done"
In recent days, as the Russian army's war in eastern Ukraine has made steady progress, Ukrainian and Western public opinion has become more and more "negative".
Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov said in an interview with the British "Economist" on the 12th that due to the heavy losses of the Ukrainian army, Kyiv sent untrained young soldiers to the front line, and they died in battle.
He laments: "What else? No one wants them there, but they will die."
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Lanzbergis, who is considered to be the most anti-Russian stance, also said in an interview with the US "Foreign Policy" on the 12th that the recent situation on the front (Russia-Ukraine conflict) shows that the possibility of "defeating" Russia is very small.
"The information we have received sounds rather disappointing: the Russians are continuing to advance and the Ukrainians cannot maintain a stable line of contact," he said, adding that Russia was also successfully responding to Western sanctions.
"If they can sustain the pressure for a long time, it means we are in a very dangerous phase of geopolitical reality".
A few days ago, U.S. President Biden called the conflict between Russia and Ukraine "Zelensky did not listen to the warnings of the United States."
In this regard, Podoljak, an adviser to the Ukrainian President's Office, rebutted on the 12th that Ukraine resisted Russia for more than 100 days, and it was "ridiculous" to accuse Ukraine at this time.
Zelensky's spokesman Nikiforov also said he hoped the US side could "clarify" the remarks.
Russia to take control of Donbass in a few weeks?
As the war heads into its fourth month, Kyiv is beginning to worry that the specter of "war fatigue" could "erode the West's resolve to help Ukraine resist Russia," the Associated Press said.
Concerns in the United States and Europe have also pushed them to put pressure on Ukraine to negotiate, especially as soaring energy prices affect the lives of Westerners.
"There is fatigue within the West, especially the EU, in finding new ways to sanction Russia, and some countries are increasingly reluctant to follow sanctions," said Villar Villa, an analyst at Milan-based think tank ISPI.
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said in an interview with the British "The Times" on the 11th that the West should not ignore Russia's interests and need to find a place for Russia after the Ukraine incident. "If we don't want Russia to become China's outpost in Europe" .
Italian scholar Orsini also said in a TV program on the 12th that the West should make concessions to Russia to avoid the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
He said the West needs to stop "playing with muscles" and not provide weapons capable of hitting the Russians.
"We have to work hard to find a diplomatic solution," he said.
The US "Washington Post" said on the 12th that as Russia adjusted its tactics and confronted the Ukrainian army with overwhelming firepower in the east of Ukraine, the optimism of the West in the early days of the conflict "is rapidly fading".
At present, the Ukrainian army cannot stop the unstoppable advance of the Russian army in the Donbas region, and the West no longer believes that Kyiv will win in the confrontation with Moscow.
The report quoted an anonymous senior U.S. defense official as saying that the Russian military is expected to take full control of the Donbas region within a few weeks.
"Russia Today" TV said on the 13th that Basulin, the deputy head of the Donetsk civil armed organization, said in a media interview organized by the Russian Ministry of Defense that day that the Ukrainian army lost the opportunity to leave Severo-Donetsk and may will all surrender.
"Yesterday, after the last bridge linking Severo-Donetsk to Lisichansk was blown up, Severo-Donetsk was effectively blocked, and the Ukrainian army there will never be able to get out," he said. "They have two The way out is to follow their colleagues and surrender or die. They have no choice.”