In an early sign of compromise following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine late last month, a senior member on Kiev’s negotiation team said his country is open to remaining outside of the NATO military bloc – a key security concern raised by Moscow time and again.
Speaking to Fox News’s Nana Sajaia about the progress of the talks on Saturday, Ukraine’s chief negotiator David Arakhamia said little had been accomplished so far. With another meeting set for Monday, however, he outlined certain tradeoffs Kiev is willing to make, including its membership in the North Atlantic alliance.
“We are ready to discuss some non-NATO models. For example, there could be direct guarantees by different countries like the US, China, UK, maybe Germany and France,” Arakhamia said. “We are open to discuss such things in a broader circle, not only in bilateral discussions with Russia, but also with other partners.”
The negotiator went on to state that, currently, the bloc’s leading members are “not ready to even discuss having us in NATO, not for the closest period of five or 10 years,” despite repeated assurances that Ukraine would be admitted – a promise first made in 2008 but reiterated as recently as last summer.
While closing the door on Ukrainian NATO membership could be a step in the right direction and signal flexibility ahead of the next round of talks, it is unlikely to satisfy all of Russia’s demands. In addition to concerns over NATO expansion, Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that Kiev cede its claims to the Crimean Peninsula and the breakaway Donbass region, where separatist forces have been under siege by the Ukrainian military for eight years.
“I don’t think that we have a choice now to even discuss some models where we would recognize those territories [as independent],” he said. “Our position is firm. We are ready to discuss any other dynamic options, but not recognition of those territories.“
Both the Donbass and Crimea have remained outside Ukrainian rule since 2014, with the latter region – once Russian territory – annexed by Moscow soon after the Maidan coup the same year. The Donbass, meanwhile, declared independence from Kiev around the same time, breaking up into the ‘People’s Republics’ of Donetsk and Luhansk, which have since been recognized as independent by Russia
Arakhamia did note one area of progress in the latest talks, saying their “only achievement” so far was the creation of humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee fighting in major cities, citing the southeastern town of Mariupol as “one of the hottest spots.” However, the corridor plan in Mariupol appears to have already collapsed, with both sides blaming each other for violating the deal.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com and news editor of the Libertarian Institute. Will Porter is the assistant news editor of the Libertarian Institute and a staff writer at RT. Kyle and Will host Conflicts of Interest along with Connor Freeman. Reprinted from The Libertarian Institute.
There’s not much to negotiate.
https://southfront.org/ukraine-reportedly-was-close-to-obtaining-nuclear-weapons-when-russia-decided-to-act/
Russian forces are under an operational pause over Sunday; probably less to do with negotiations and more to do with trying to un-FUBAR operations.
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2022/03/05/ukrainian-update-5/
RT is down intermittently but Sputnik News seems OK in North America, as far as their websites go. Russian news is just banned in Europe.
Russia, has no reason to sabotage humanitarian corridors and prevent civilians from fleeing. Or unarmed enemy combatants fleeing as civilians for that matter.
Russia has agreed with Ukraine to have the humanitarian corridors. It is my belief that Russia wants firm agreements to; a) not join NATO, b) not even think of hosting missiles aimed at Russia. It is my belief that Russia will pull back to the dividing line between Ukraine proper and the Donbas, to allow the Russian speaking citizens to return. I also believe that Russia will aid in the rebuilding, although it will take a long time to rebuild relationships with Ukraine citizens who have taken losses. The wild card is us. This will be considered to be another loss, and there is no way to predict how we will act. As an example it is noted the theft of Afghan funds from banks, funds that were put in the banks for safekeeping by merchants and citizens. Seven billion dollars of funds. From the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/11/us/politics/taliban-afghanistan-911-families-frozen-funds.html Chris Hedges predicted this. From Scheerpost: https://scheerpost.com/2021/08/30/hedges-the-empire-does-not-forgive/
if Ukraine agrees not to join NATO or host NATO nukes, what does Russia concede?
Or does Russia get to dictate everything?
“Ukraine” gets to live in peace
Yes, Russia gets to dictate everything. This is what happens when you lose in war. Look up how the US treated Japan.
‘We’ aren’t much of wild card. Russia will be decoupled and crammed into the Cold War villain role EU NATO and US imperialists desperately need for legitimacy.
For Ukraine to keep any security guarantee treaties with Russia, they have to do the impossible over time – consistently produce stable governments sufficiently free of NATO domestic interference as to always be independent and acting first for the interests of Ukrainians.
This is something the neutral Nordics and Switzerland have been unable to achieve in the post Cold War era.
Independence from European soft power is something the US has been unable to achieve. EU imperialists and American imperialists have had a symbiotic alliance since the start of WWII, when all the America First US generals were purged.
The US doesn’t want Ukraine without Crimea, and the EU would never want Ukraine even with Crimea if they thought about it. Ukraine’s potential to supplant Western Europe is to great.
Russia will be forced to keep Ukraine, and Russia then eternally villainized for that favour.
Western Europe will never let the centre of European gravity sway to a Eastern Europe centred on Ukraine.
“Russia will be forced to keep Ukraine, and Russia then eternally villainized for that favour.”
Correct. Russia will “capture” – not “occupy” – Ukraine, eliminate the present regime, install a new Constitution banning NATO and the neo-Nazi parties and recognizing Donbass either as an autonomous part of Ukraine or independent, hold new elections (“managed” to insure a pro-Russian regime), then “negotiate” with that regime to install Russia strategic weapons in Ukraine to counter the US weapons in Poland and Romania. Ukraine will become a compliant partner with Russia, like Belarus.
Zelensky hasn’t popped up in Poland yet with a government in exile, like NATO wants.
Russia wouldn’t want to eliminate Zelensky; they need someone to negotiate with. Zelensky has the most ‘legitimacy’.
That legitimacy is a problem for NATO; its NATO that would want to eliminate Zelensky; he’s a loose end who could make things a lot less painful for the Russians.
For NATO, a Ukraine government-in-exile and Russia and Ukraine left hanging in the wind is the preferred next phase.
For Ukraine, accommodation and peace with dignity, without the embarrassing word ‘surrender’, is the best move.
Except for the extremist neo-Nazis who have to be killed off first. They won’t deal.
Agreed. Zelensky will be dumped by the Russians after the war ends. Although they’re not negotiating with Zelensky now, just members of the Ukrainian government. Zelensky has probably been sidelined by his own people, given his mental condition. The government-in-exile thing won’t work if Russia sets up a caretaker government, a new Constitution, and then new elections, any more than the Iranian “government in exile” worked after the Iran Revolution.
Zelensky wouldn’t be expected to negotiate in person.
Negotiations are happening with representatives at an agreed location.
The Russians wouldn’t dump Zelensky unless he was a complete NATO stooge. Otherwise, they need his credibility as the elected head of state to implement any peace agreement.
Ukrainians have imbibed Western lingo, like “dynamic”. Russia clearly had enough of “dynamic” conversatioms for the last eight years. Ukraine’s capital was Lvov ever since a duplicate declaration of independence was proclaimed in August 1991. The declsratiom was written overnight by a group of four “disidents”, with the center in Lvov, where their activities were funded by west and Vatican.
Why duplicate? To get out of the obligations from the first declaration of independence, acquired under Soviet Cinstitution righs in 1990.
Under thar declaratiom recognized by Soviet Uniom
Ukraine was an independent country, with its independennt bank, independent miliary, and starrted to issue its passports,
The obligations Ukraine accepted:
– to be a permanently neutral state that will not join any military blicks or alliances
– to not produce, acquire or receive nuclear weapoms,
In March, Siviet Union had a referendum on becomming a confederation of independent states, and Ukraine citizens had an additional question asking citizens to affirm the Declaratiom if Independence, Results were high un favor of both,
But at the time, Western minders of Lvov based irganizatikns and disdidents. advised them to pudh through Rada a new declaration that omitted any obligatiom. Behind the scene Rada representstives were convinced by the mix of threats and inducements to vote for it the same day, It became known later that it was made clear to the delegates thst West would isolate them and block develooment unles they vote for the new declaratiom,
But they could not conduct the referendum as it would not have passed. Therefore. It took until December to prepare the referendum — among the most rigged one in history. It showed that even Crimean residents voted for it!
Now, this may sound cinvincing if ine is not aware that Crimea voted BEFORE this new and improved Declaration to restote its rights as Soviet Republuc independent from Ukraine, thus having its rights to decide its fiture,
Ever since Crimea never recognized Ukraine, They passed theit constitution and had multiple regerendums. Ukraine blocked, or prohibited many, Wven put Crimea under direct presidential rule, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, all the way until Orange revolution — when Lviv oriented lesders finaly took over. Chaos ensued, and cintinued umder Julia Tymoscenko, and Yanukovic came as a result of deep unhappines with economy. His election was recognized by EU.
But Lvov and their backers were unhappy, and Maidan revolutiom was planned
This tume utilizing the muscle of rejuvenated neo-Nazis.
This tme they took power completely. No matter the presideng.
Let us say it plainly – in Ukraine it ix the West supportec Catholics vs. Orthodox Christians, Ukrainian or Russian. Minority umposing its language and cultural
affinities.
Globally, ir has been noticed, Recommending former Indian diplomat M. Bhadrakumar, He and many are pointing the deep bigotry in Europe towards Otthodox Christianity by the Western religious stalwarts.
Russia was never to be accepted as equal into the Western club, just as Turkey will never be accepted, What Chinese or Indian learned long time
ago.
We are witnessing a clash of civilizations— under he thin garb of modernity,
the Soviets starved and murdered millions of Ukranians
When USSR was ruled by the Bolshevics who were mostly non-Russian.
What does Russia give up?
Nothing. Deal with it.
The Ukrainian morons don’t realize they’ve been issued terms of surrender. Their only choice is to accept them. These are not “negotiations.”
Half their army is surrounded in Donbass. Their capital is surrounded. They’ve lost their entire south (or will once Odessa is taken.)
And the issue of “de-Nazification” hasn’t even been addressed yet.
This war will be over by the end of the month. If Ukraine surrenders and lays down its arms, it will be over sooner. That is the only possible outcome.
The MSM is presenting Russia’s terms for peace and Zelensky’s reaction.
First of all, Zelensky appears to still be in Ukraine. He also says, the terms aren’t so easy met, calling them an ultimatum, while hinting at some hard realities on the ground. The Russians want:
1. A bar on Ukraine ever entering NATO.
2. Recognition of the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk.
3. Recognition of the independence of Crimea.
4. Cease all military actions.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/zelensky-rejects-putin-s-demands-for-ending-war-it-s-an-ultimatum/ar-AAUKEPw
Problem for Zelensky is, he probably can’t guarantee compliance on any points.
NATO, won’t recognize any separatist independence.
The neo-Nazi battalions are never going to stop fighting.
Many units of the AFU may not obey a Zelensky stand-down order either; these rogue units would be supported by NATO.
Russia’s sparing use of force ironically also left largely intact, the strongest opponents to peace. Zelensky is at least smart enough not to give orders that won’t be obeyed.
Now, if Russia had leveled all military infrastructure in shock and awe and taken a few major cities in the first week, Zelensky could say, “OK we tried, we fought, the neo-Nazi warmongers are mostly dead, there’s no harm in diplomacy…”
As in every modern war it is mostly workers of Russia killing workers of Ukraine and workers of Ukraine killing workers of Russia to preserve the power and wealth of the Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs.
Today the future of mankind is more precarious than at the time of the initial publication of the Communist Manifesto when nuclear weapons had not yet been invented and produced.
American workers are pumped up with hatred of Russian workers and Russian workers are pumped up with hatred of our workers and such bi-national pumping-up of hatreds occur everywhere on Earth. Mankind seems to be utterly unable to come up with something new. Something original such as a universal, persistent, and practical state of no-war.
Today our leaders avoid a state of war with Russia because it is perfectly thinkable what will happen. MAD.
The Communist Manifesto failed.
No-one in Eurasia ever wants to experience that ever again.
The working classes do NOT need to be led by a technocratic elite of jumped-up better-than-thous.