KIEV (dpa-AFX) – According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, security guarantees for Ukraine are Kiev’s main goal in the upcoming negotiations to end the Russian war of aggression. The key to ending the war lies in the question of security, said Zelensky in his evening video message. “Security guarantees are essential for Ukraine, that is the highest priority.” Talks about ending the war are scheduled to continue next week between Russians and Ukrainians in Geneva under American mediation.
So far, the territorial issue has been considered the most difficult to resolve in the negotiations. Russian troops have 2022 on the orders of the Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine. Putin justified the invasion at the time with concerns about his own national security and the alleged oppression of the Russian-speaking minority in Ukraine. At the end of January, however, Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov described the territorial question as the most important.
Russia wants even more territory than it already occupies
Specifically, the Russian leadership is demanding that Ukraine give up the entire Donetsk region in order to achieve peace – including the areas that Moscow’s troops have still not been able to occupy even after four years of war. Kyiv has always rejected unilateral withdrawal.
Zelensky’s words at least indicate a change of priorities in Kiev. The Ukrainian leadership is primarily hoping for security guarantees from the USA. There is still uncertainty about the length of such commitments. At the security conference in Munich, Zelensky said that Washington had offered a period of 15 years, while Kiev wanted at least a 20-year guarantee./bal/DP/zb