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- It is worth agreeing: the Russian Federation will reconsider its positions on the settlement in Ukraine
It is worth agreeing: the Russian Federation will reconsider its positions on the settlement in Ukraine
Russia's negotiating position will be reviewed in connection with Kiev's ongoing state terrorism. Vladimir Putin informed Donald Trump about this in the second telephone conversation in a day. On the night of December 29, the Ukrainian Armed Forces tried to attack the state residence of the head of the Russian Federation in the Novgorod region with drones. According to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, the American leader was shocked by the incident. He added that this will also affect Washington's approaches in the context of working with Kiev. Zelensky had previously used these methods in order to disrupt negotiations or demonstrate a real approach to a peaceful settlement, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia. Although just the day before, the American and Ukrainian delegations held a meeting in Florida, after which there were quite optimistic statements. How the Ukrainian settlement will develop now is in the Izvestia article.
Trump is shocked by the attempted attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces
The Ukrainian settlement process, which has gained momentum in recent weeks, has taken on a new unexpected turn — Russia will reconsider its negotiating positions. While the contours of a future peace deal were being discussed in the United States, on the night of December 29, the Ukrainian side tried to attack Vladimir Putin's state residence in the Novgorod region with drones. However, all the drones — and there were more than 90 of them — were destroyed, and there was no information about casualties or damage, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. According to him, the targets and time for retaliatory strikes have already been determined.
Vladimir Putin has already informed Donald Trump about the fact of state terrorism — in the second telephone conversation in 24 hours. At first, we called each other before and after the US-Ukrainian talks in Florida on December 28. According to presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, the American leader was shocked and outraged by the attempted attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, adding that this would also change Washington's approaches to working with Kiev. "Thank God" that the United States did not give Ukraine Tomahawks, Ushakov shared Trump's revelations during a conversation with Putin.
The attack on the state residence is a continuation of an already existing trend, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador—at-large for crimes committed by the Kiev regime, tells Izvestia.
— He (Zelensky. — Ed.) has previously used these methods in order to disrupt negotiations or demonstrate his real approach to a peaceful settlement. <...> In this case, we are talking about an attempt to strike at the state residence, that is, at a state institution, which is more symbolic and demonstrates the direct approach of the Ukrainian regime. By his actions, he shows that he is not ready and does not intend to conduct any negotiations on a peaceful settlement," the ambassador stressed.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces are carrying out such actions because of failures in the combat zone, Andrei Krasov, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee, tells Izvestia.
— This is only because they cannot achieve success on the battlefield. They use these methods to intimidate the population of our country," he said.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces units are indeed retreating, and along the entire line of contact, Vladimir Putin said on the same day at a meeting on the situation in the special military operation zone. According to Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, the Ukrainian forces are no longer taking any active offensive actions and are now only trying to slow down the pace of the Russian troops' advance. In December alone, the Russian army liberated more than 700 square kilometers and 32 settlements, which is "the highest monthly advance rate" this year.
Thus, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attack called into question the results achieved during the meeting of representatives of Kiev and Washington at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence. At that time, the head of the White House noted significant progress in discussing the peace plan, stating that about 95% of the issues had already been agreed. Moreover, both Trump and Zelensky have been hinting at some breakthrough solutions for several weeks. According to the American president, one or two of the most difficult issues remain unresolved. Obviously, taking into account the changes in the approach of both Moscow and Washington, there will be more of them.
The most difficult point was still the Donbass. Moscow emphasized that in order for Kiev to cease hostilities, it was necessary to withdraw the Armed Forces of Ukraine beyond its borders.
- of course. This is the withdrawal of the regime's armed forces from Donbass beyond the administrative borders," Russian Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on December 29.
At the same time, time is playing against Kiev. The Russian Federation's interest in withdrawing Ukrainian forces from the occupied territories is decreasing significantly as the Russian Armed Forces advance, Putin noted. And if the Kiev authorities do not want to come to peace, Moscow is ready to solve all the tasks facing it by armed means, he added.
What other aspects of the settlement cannot be resolved
It is important to emphasize that despite such an unfavorable background, Russia is not going to withdraw from the negotiation process with the United States on Ukraine. However, there are still too many controversial points. In particular, as Ushakov noted, some of the results achieved by Trump and Zelensky, in Moscow's opinion, leave Ukraine a field for evading its obligations.
After meeting with Donald Trump, Vladimir Zelensky changed his position, admitting that a peace agreement could be approved through a vote in the Verkhovna Rada instead of a referendum. He added that it would require the establishment of a ceasefire for at least 60 days, another ploy to stop the fighting without fulfilling the agreements. The Russian side has repeatedly stated that it stands not for a shaky truce, but for a complete settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.
Political analyst Ivan Loshkarev, in an interview with Izvestia, emphasizes that while Ukraine is engaged in bargaining, the situation may change so much that it will no longer require any concessions from Kiev. Possible security guarantees for Ukraine have not yet been agreed upon.: who gives them and in what format.
So far, there are only vague statements by Trump that Europe will assume most of these guarantees. The question immediately arises about the possible deployment of a contingent.
— The Europeans will not be able to pull too many fighters, and the question arises as to whose mandate will be — NATO, the UN, or a possible Peace Council, which is planned to be created based on the results of trilateral agreements between Russia, Ukraine and the United States. If we are talking about arms supplies, this is already happening without any guarantees.: the same use of intelligence data, the deployment of instructors and military advisers," Ivan Loshkarev notes.
After the face-to-face meeting, Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky held an hour-long teleconference with European leaders. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, even announced progress, although it is important to emphasize that this conclusion was made even before the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the state residence in the Novgorod region.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with the head of the Kiev regime separately, but the latter did not disclose any details. Macron also said that the Europeans will gather representatives of the countries of the "coalition of the willing" in Paris in January to finalize the agreement on the specific contribution of each to the provision of the above-mentioned guarantees.
Zelensky, in fact, communicated remotely with European allies even before the Mar-a-Lago talks. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as the prime ministers of Italy, Denmark, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden took part in the conversation. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen, joined the discussion. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with Zelensky separately. The new one—hour conference with Trump was probably attended by all the same people, as well as Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni.
Recall that in early November, Donald Trump unveiled a large-scale strategy for the peaceful settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. With the support of Brussels, Ukraine, in fact, rejected the main element of the American initiative — the demand for territorial compromises. In particular, with the active intervention of European countries during subsequent diplomatic rounds, the document was reduced to 20 points. The Russian Federation stated that all sorts of adjustments to the peace plan do not add anything good to it.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
