Russia expects a Ukrainian delegation to arrive in Belarus Thursday morning for the second round of ceasefire talks, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said on Wednesday.
Medinsky said the Russian delegation has already arrived in Belarus for the talks. “Belarusian special services fully ensure the safety in Belarus, and our [Russian] military has ensured a safety passage for their [Ukrainian delegation] movement through Ukraine,” he said, according to CNN.
Russia and Ukraine held their first round of talks in Belarus on Monday. No tangible progress was made, but the two sides agreed to hold another round soon that is expected to be held on the border of Belarus and Poland.
Monday’s talks were held in the Gomel region of Belarus, which is near the borders of both Ukraine and Russia. It’s not clear where the next round is being held, but some reports said it will be near the Belovezhskaya Pushcha forest in Belarus’ southwestern Brest region, which borders Poland and Ukraine.
Ukrainian media reports have detailed the terms Russia laid out to Ukraine during the first round of talks. Sources told Ukraine’s Glavkom that Russia wants Kiev to commit to neutrality at the parliamentary level and organize a referendum on this matter. Russia also wants Ukraine to recognize the breakaway Donbas republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and drop its demand for Russia to return Crimea.
Russia: we came, we killed, we destroyed. Now it’s up to you to give us a reason to leave peacefully.
Those are not ceasefire terms. Those are surrender terms.
They are also not unreasonable, and are likely to be the eventual terms. The only real question is how many will die and how much suffering inflicted before the inevitable is agreed.
Correct. I suspect the terms will go beyond that: a new Ukrainian Constitution, new elections. Some people think Putin will let Zelensky remain – I tend to doubt that. The new Constitution will ban neo-Nazi parties, ban strategic weapons of Ukraine that could threaten Russia, ban NATO membership, restore Russian as second language of Ukraine, maybe other things.
If the terms aren’t accepted, the major portion of the Ukrainian military in the east will be destroyed, Odessa and the entire coast up to Transnistria taken, and Kiev will eventually fall by attrition.
In a nutshell Ukraine must wipe any western footprints if peace is to be restored. Zelensky will not be permitted to stay.
This will not be the last war. There will be more in the future elsewhere. Most likely in Africa. You can count on it.