With this in mind, several official figures from the Kremlin have increased their declarations in recent days to discredit Ukraine and its place at the negotiating table. Sergei Lavrov did not hesitate to mention a “country now called Ukraine” during a press conference held this Tuesday. Through this formulation, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs completely denies the existence of a Ukrainian identity and therefore, of a sovereign and independent state of Russia.
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A conflict between neighbors
The Kremlin persists in presenting Ukraine as a nation that is an integral part of Russia, both culturally and historically, to justify the invasion – which it hopes to pass off as a conflict between neighbors. Dimitri Rogozin, senator in the Zaporizhia oblast (and former director of the Roscosmos space agency) declared in an interview that Russia was pursuing “denazification“of Ukraine, to be understood as “liquidation of those who instill a misanthropic Russophobic spirit” in the population. Fortunately he specifies…
“The Kremlin remains determined to achieve the initial objectives of its invasionwe can read in the latest report of theInstitute for the Study of War. Namely the destruction of the Ukrainian state, the dissolution of the current Ukrainian government, the demilitarization of Ukraine and the permanent ban on Ukraine from joining NATO in the future.“
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Negotiations without Ukraine
Will Donald Trump be fooled? The future US president promised to resolve the conflict in Ukraine “in 24 hours“, once he takes office. And kyiv fears being forced to make major concessions in exchange for peace.
Nikolai Patrushev, former secretary of the Russian Security Council and current presidential aide to Vladimir Putin, said in an interview that only Russia and the United States should begin negotiations. Implied, in the absence of Volodymyr Zelensky. He then asserted that it should also be “without the participation of other Western countries“. He also clarified that ceding the occupied territory was “not even a questionable idea“. The tone is set.
