Peace only under these conditions – what Russia and Ukraine really want

difficulties facedrussian advance and from Ukrainian counter-offensiveweb of exaggeration To publicize And the increasingly deadly attacks on civilian infrastructure have somehow restarted a kind of “remote peace talks” between Kiev and Moscow. will certainly never be guided and will never rest, especially by Russia reiterating its ideas permanent position for cessation of hostilities.

it was the opening of the window for new conversation Peace summit held in Jeddahin Saudi Arabia, in which obscure people also participated Sugar, absent there Russiawho denied any progress towards peace, while Kiev reaffirmed Absolute determination on Ukrainian territorial integrity, Apparently, there is a hole in the water, which has prompted both the countries to rectify their respective positions in a clear and swift manner. Thus helping us to understand in a better and planned way what exactly they want to end this war.

Here’s what we talked about the coup in Niger, what Russia has to do with it, and why we care,

What Russia Wants: Putin’s Terms for Peace

Russian peace formula for Ukraine It is published far and wide without much word of mouth on pro-Russia Telegram channels and on state TV. The Kremlin’s requests have been confirmed by institutional spokesmen as well as by reports from Western think tanks. the Russian context is practically always “First block”a kind of indispensable basis for sitting at an imaginary peace table, called “Fundamentals of Settlement”,

In other words: Russia does not want to leave Donbass, Crimea, Kherson and Zaporizhia, the four territories were unilaterally annexed and annexed, as well as “confirmed” by popular referendum for admission to the Federation. This first point would already be enough to push Ukraine, as it happened, not to accept further conditions (Meanwhile, Russia Could Still Deploy Millions of Troops: What We Know, However, the following points have been reworked recognizing that, sooner or later, the conflict has to end. Below is a schematic list of all Russian conditions for signing an agreement with the aggressor country.

1. “The current war in Ukraine This is not a war between Russia and Ukraine, but a civil war within Ukraine, Moscow’s thesis is the same, but presented slightly but significantly differently: The Kremlin wants a peaceful Ukraine, where in 2014 the population was split into pro-Russian and pro-West. and in which Russia and the US have intervened to provide military support to their respective factions. “Therefore, peace in Ukraine is, first of all, a peaceful and fair settlement of Ukraine,” the political scientist and former adviser to Putin says ambiguously. sergei markov,
2. One cannot miss the reference to the uprising in Maidan Square, which is defined as the main reason for the war in Ukraine. “Violent Illegal Undemocratic Coup of 2014”, As pro-European rebels overturned the results of free democratic elections that led to Yanukovych’s presidency, Moscow argues that “all the results of the 2014 Ukrainian coup d’état must be nullified”.
3. For this reason, “All Ukrainian laws adopted after 2014 should be repealed”, Another point that is definitely unacceptable for the Zelensky government.
4. Direct result: According to Putin’s entourage, “The entire government of Ukraine, including Zelensky, must step down”, It will be replaced by an interim transitional technical executive, which will be “composed of experts who have never participated in government since 2014”. But not only this: some posts of the new regime will have to be taken by “people from Ukraine after 2014”. Russian analysts are keen to make it clear that they do not seek a return to the past: “Yanukovych and Medvedchuk are experts in forming a caretaker government”.
5. Next step: “Neutralization of Ukraine”, Russia refers only to the order of the aggressor country, in which case it indirectly recognizes its legitimate independence. “There neutrality It is introduced as a fundamental principle in the Constitution of Ukraine,” explains Markov.
6. “Disclaimer”, This is perhaps the most intriguing point in terms of propaganda, as it is reminiscent of Ukrainians’ past collaborationist groups on the side of the Nazi invaders during World War II. “All neo-Nazi organizations are banned. All monuments to Nazis and neo-Nazis were demolished. All textbooks have been rewritten. Anyone who has participated in the work of neo-Nazi organizations is banned from public office for life.
7. “democratization”, In Kremlin rhetoric, Zelensky’s ouster and “liberation” from the Western yoke represents a return to democracy. In this sense, Russian propaganda repeats the cornerstones loudly shouted by the pro-Russian separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk from 2014 to the present day. “All political prisoners, political migrants, banned parties and silent media will be rehabilitated. Their ownership will be fully compensated by a special fund. Free elections will be held six months after independence. The Central Election Commission is constituted jointly by Russia, the European Union, China, India and the United States of America.
8. “The fight against de-Russification”, Once the country is normalized institutionally and internationally, we move on to the fundamental aspect of language. “All laws restricting the Russian language must be repealed and Russian will become the second state language, as it has always been.”
9. “demilitarization”, The diplomatic contours and scenarios of the Cold War have been reaffirmed, emphasizing points that, according to Moscow, led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and deterioration of relations with the United States and the European Union. “All NATO weapons and advisers must be withdrawn from Ukraine, with a permanent ban on re-entering the country.”
10. Then ReligionAnother great popular anchor: “All repression against the Orthodox Church has been cancelled”.

ps list ends with a “cyclical” conclusionWhich misses the premise: “The annexation of the five former regions of Ukraine to Russia must be officially recognized by Kiev”.

What Ukraine Wants: Zelensky’s (and the West’s) Positions

then there are those who define Moscow “Thesis of Zelensky”an ironic reference to famous political directives Written by Lenin in 1917, Year of the Russian Revolution. Even the peace terms set by Ukraine, Developed together with the United States and the United Kingdom, Start from an essential premise: respect for the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “The only basis for negotiations is the peace formula of President Zelensky” (Here we talked about what Ukraine wants after the war: a divided and fragmented Russia, There can be no compromise conditions such as “immediate ceasefire” and “negotiations here and now” that would give Russia time to stay in the occupied territories: “only The withdrawal of Russian troops to the border established in 1991, With some requests from Moscow, as we have seen, an inconsistent point. Here are the highlights of the Kiev proposal.

1. nuclear security: With a special focus on the Zaporizhzhya plant. Simply put, Russia would have to give up control of the region and therefore the plant.
2. food security: that is, to guarantee the export of grain and cereals from Ukrainian ports to foreign markets, as before the war.
3. energy securityPrice restrictions on oil and gas from Russia and international funding to restore Ukraine’s energy systems destroyed and damaged during the conflict.
4. Russia needs release all prisoners of war And transfer all deported children to Ukraine.
5. Explanation of Indispensable Basis: Donbass, Novorossiya must return to Ukraine (including the southern Ukrainian belt on the Black Sea) for example Crimea,
6. full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.
7. And special court for war crimesIt is emphasized, “committed by Russia”.
8. “stop all echoaudios”: a formula by which international financing is understood to destroy the territory of Ukraine.
9. security guarantee For Ukraine in the new international architecture of the Euro-Atlantic region. an explicit, but implicit reference to a joining NATO I European Union,
10. ratification of the end of the war With the signing of a peace treaty between Russia and Ukraine.

Result so far? The Kremlin has defined only the point of demolition as “acceptable”. Everything else is treated as Moscow conditions an unacceptable surrender, an ultimatum that seeks to destroy Russia and hand it over to America. Therefore, Russia decided not to participate in the Jeddah Summit.

At what point is the war: the “direction” of the United States.

Jeddah conference on peace in Ukraine shared goal of development West and South combined view of the world to end the war. From the US point of view, the military situation is favorable: Moscow has failed to capture major cities in UkraineStrengthening itself with difficulty and especially bloody the already captured Donbass, while the Ukrainian army is much stronger and better equipped than in the first months of 2022. Washington is well aware that, over the past year, Russian army has lost and not gained territory in Ukraine, Coming back to the defensive strategy. Mutiny and desertion among soldiers, recorded internal tensions with mercenaries Wagner Group ,Here we expose all the “dirty business” of Prigozhin.) and Western sanctions only reinforce it General understanding of the crisis in Russia,

The purpose of not inviting Russia to the Jeddah Conference against the will of the United States was to further strengthen Image of Russia as a country that has now lost the war And other states may participate in drafting the plan of peace. The impact that the summit in Arabia had on the battlefield also cannot be ruled out: according to the United States it contributed to stalling the advance of the Russian army, which could take advantage of some of the difficulties faced by the Ukrainians. There was, for example, the region of Ilovaisk. a tactic according to Moscow, Already seen in 2014when the west proposed a conference Minsk To distract the world and curb the increasingly important Russian attacks.