Russia/Ukraine: towards peace negotiations?

A member of the Ukrainian special forces, in the Bakhmut region, April 6, 2023. REUTERS - KAI PFAFFENBACH

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Emmanuel Macron has urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to reason with Russia, a close ally of Beijing, and help end the conflict in Ukraine. For its part, China has expressed hope for peace negotiations to be held as soon as possible. But on the side of the belligerents, the time is not really for negotiations.

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Neither Kiev nor Moscow have peace talks as their immediate goal and are instead preparing for a new phase of the war.

Russian forces, which occupy just under 18% of Ukrainian territory compared to 25% at the end of March 2022, continue their assaults in the Donbass, especially in Bakhmut, where the Ukrainian army continues to put up resistance.

The Kremlin rules out the possibility of Chinese mediation to stop the fighting: "There is no prospect of a political settlement. And, for the time being, we have no other solution than to continue the special military operation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

For several months, the Russians have been digging trenches and building fortifications in the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, Kherson and even in Crimea.

Ukraine, for its part, is preparing to carry out its counter-offensive.

Anticipating the outcome of a more than uncertain operation, Andriy Sybiha, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky, suggested in an interview with the Financial Times that Ukraine might be willing to discuss the future of Crimea with Moscow if its forces reached the border of the occupied peninsula.

The spokesman of the Ukrainian presidency hastens to specify that on this subject, only the statements of Volodymyr Zelensky are authentic. Recently, the Ukrainian president said that there would be peace talks with it only if Russia voluntarily withdrew from all occupied territories, including Crimea.

► Read also War in Ukraine: Emmanuel Macron calls Xi Jinping to "bring Russia to reason"

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• Russia
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