Zelensky ready for compromises on Donbass and Crimea - says he's cooling on the idea of NATO membership

RT
Tue, 08 Mar 2022 22:02 UTC

© Sergei Supinsky/Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he is ready for talks on certain "compromises" regarding the breakaway republics in Donetsk and Lugansk, as well as Crimea. He made the statement during the second week of Russia's military campaign against his country.

David Muir asked Zelensky on ABC News on Monday if he was willing to concede to Moscow's demand of recognizing Crimea as part of Russia, and the two breakaway republics of the Donbass as independent states.

"I'm ready for dialogue. We're not ready for a capitulation," Zelensky said.

The Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) seceded from Ukraine shortly after the 2014 coup in Kiev. Crimea voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia the same year.

Zelensky called both states "pseudo-republics" and repeated Kiev's long-held position of referring to the DPR and LPR as 'temporarily occupied territories'.

"But we can discuss this and find a compromise on how these occupied territories and these republics can exist. What's important for me is how people who want to be a part of Ukraine will live," the president said.

"This question is more difficult than simply recognizing [their independence]. This is another ultimatum. And we're not prepared for ultimatums," Zelensky added.

Comment: Not ready? Maybe he should've been, given that he's had 8 years to implement the already-agreed-upon compromise set forth in the Minsk agreements...

Zelensky reiterated that he was ready for direct negotiations with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. "What needs to be done is for Putin to start talking, to start a dialogue," he said.

Comment: What makes him think he's in any position to bargain? Again, he (and his predecessors) have had 8 years.

Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24, insisting that it was defending the DPR and LPR, as well as seeking for Ukraine to declare itself a neutral country that will never join NATO. Kiev said the offensive was completely unjustified and denied claims that it was planning to retake the rebellious republics by force.

Russians and Ukrainians have held three rounds of peace talks in Belarus, finding some common ground on the establishment of safe passages from embattled Ukrainian cities.

Comment: He also had this to say regarding NATO: "I've become less passionate about this issue after we understood that NATO isn't ready to accept Ukraine. The alliance is afraid of controversial things and a confrontation with Russia," Zelensky said. "I've never wanted Ukraine to be a country that is on its knees, begging for something. And we're not going to be that country." Sadly, this is what he and his country have been reduced to, begging for military aid, a no-fly zone, sanctions on Russia, foreign mercenaries...

Russia has reportedly sent their final offer of demands to end the crisis, pausing military offensives to await Zelensky's decision.

"Russia has offered a "final" version of its offer to end the crisis, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky needs to accept or decline... Putin ordered his forces to halt ... in order to wait for Zelensky's decision, the sources said." #Zelensky "will have to pay a heavy price, the sources said. Assumptions are that he will be forced to give up the contested Donbas region, officially recognize the pro-Russian dissidents in Ukraine, pledge that Ukraine will not join NATO, shrink his army and declare neutrality."

If #Zelenskyy declines #Russian demands: "outcome may be terrible: thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of Ukrainians will die and there is a high probability that his country will completely lose its independence."#Russian demands to #Zelenskyy were "deemed "difficult" but not "impossible," the sources said. It is worse than what Zelensky would have gotten before the invasion but "the gaps between the sides are not great.""

Ivan Katchanovski, the academic who proved Right Sector responsibility in the Maidan shootings, offers his speculation on Russia's demands: abdication or a power-sharing agreement with Yanukovych or his ex-PM Azarov.

Meanwhile, the Russian military for the third time proposed a new evacuation plan for civilians and foreigners in Kiev, Chernigov, Mariupol, Kharkov, and Sumy - providing entry into Belarus and Russia. The Ukrainians would be able to provide exits for those who prefer to exit to other parts of Ukraine. The Ukrainians announced the evacuation route from Sumy was set up and ready to go, agreed upon with the Russians via the ICRC. In a typical piece of gaslighting, the deputy PM accused the Russians of "forcing" people to take an "unsafe" route and called on them to refrain from their "manipulations." Well, let's see how things played out: Sumy was the only city the Ukrainians agreed to evacuate. They provided 35 buses and evacuated ... 723 people, which included ... 0 Ukrainians.

The Ukrainians would not allow Russian humanitarian aid buses to approach the city, threatening to shoot and destroy them.

CIA director Burns is predicting exactly what he and his colleagues want the most: an "ugly few weeks", with urban conflict leading to mass civilian casualties. The Ukrainians are doing everything possible to make that a reaility.