Moscow is willing to explore serious solutions for settling the Ukrainian crisis but will not accept ultimatums, according to a statement released on Saturday by Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry.
When commenting on Ukrainian foreign minister Dmitry Kuleba’s remark about the significance of Zelensky’s “peace formula,” she said: “Unfortunately, it is another attempt by the Ukrainian authorities to mislead the international community and its own people,” as reported by Tass news agency.
“Zelensky’s so-called ‘peace formula’ has nothing to do with peace. It is just a list of ultimatum demands for Russia, which are detached from reality. The plan particularly demands that Russian troops be withdrawn from Russian regions (the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions and even Crimea), Russia pay reparations and even plead guilty at international tribunals. The goal of the Ukrainian ‘peace formula’ is to make Russia surrender with Western help,” Zakharova noted.
“We have repeatedly stated that we are open to really serious proposals from the West and Ukraine on finding a political and diplomatic solution to the crisis but we will not accept the language of ultimatums,” the Russian diplomat added.
“In order to ensure sustainable peace, there is a need to demand that the provision of weapons and mercenaries to Ukraine should come to an end, military activities should stop, Ukraine should restore its neutral status, and the new situation on the ground, which stems from the right of peoples to self-determination, should be recognized at the international level. In addition, the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine need to take place, all threats coming from its territory need to be eliminated and its non-nuclear status needs to be guaranteed along with respect for the rights of Russian speakers and ethnic minorities,” Zakharova said.
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She said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had made it apparent that the US was committed to continue equipping Ukraine rather than working to resolve the problem diplomatically.
Zakharova advised those nations who wished to assist in resolving the conflict to address Kiev and “its Western puppeteers, who have been dragging Ukraine into the dangerous whirlpool of a global confrontation” with their appeals for peace.
