Enlarge image
Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council
Photo:
Yekaterina Shtukina / ITAR-TASS / IMAGO
The desire for a negotiated solution to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine is expressed again and again; most recently, in the SPIEGEL top-level discussion, Gregor Gysi outlined his ideas about how a 48-hour plan could lead to a ceasefire in peace negotiations.
Many of these ideas are based on the assumption that there is war weariness among those involved and a desire to end the fighting.
An interview that former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gave to the state news agency Tass suggests that this is apparently not the case on the Russian side.
The deputy head of the National Security Council explained what Russia would have to do to achieve the goals of what the country calls a "special military operation."
“Where should we stay?” Medvedev first asked himself with a view to the Russian troops.
The Putin confidant continued: “Will it be Kiev?
Yes, it should probably be Kiev.
If not now, then after some time, perhaps in another phase of the development of this conflict." Medvedev also said that Russians and Ukrainians are one nation - and that the Ukrainian government must "fall."
When asked whether there would be anything left of Ukraine as a state after the end of the "special operation," Medvedev said he didn't know for sure.
"Perhaps the Lviv region, with a center in the city of Lviv, if Poland or another region supports it." But this is "a complicated process, not only militarily, but also politically."
sol/Reuters