“Russia is not in a position to dictate its terms. Ukraine’s peace formula remains unchanged: an immediate end to the war, the withdrawal of all Russian troops, the restoration of Ukrainian territorial integrity, compensation for the damage caused, and the provision of effective guarantees of non-repetition of aggression. Under other conditions, it will be impossible to achieve lasting peace,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Serhiy Nikolenko said in a statement.
The statement comes after Ukraine’s previous proposal for Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine to end war and start negotiations was declined by Russian MFA who “don’t accept Ukrainian condition in particular regarding the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine.”
As Ukrainian president Zelenskyy said before, Ukraine is ready to negotiate with Russia only when Russia shows readiness to end the war by withdrawing troops from those Ukrainian territories that remain occupied. He also said he believes Russia will become more realistic about negotiations “after Ukraine liberates Luhansk or Donetsk” in addition to recently liberated Kherson.
