Peace talks with Russia after Trump’s inauguration: will Ukraine have the right to its red lines?
11 November 16:14
ANALYSIS
US President-elect Donald Trump intends to initiate talks between Russia and Ukraine on his first day in office. This was reported by the Associated Press, citing Trump’s plans after his inauguration on January 20.
During the election campaign, Trump repeatedly claimed that he could end the war between Russia and Ukraine in one day. After announcing his victory in the election, Trump’s press secretary Caroline Leavitt said that he was ready to start peace talks to end the war in Ukraine.
“Day one includes bringing Ukraine and Russia to the table to end this war,”
– the statement said.
Trump’s other priorities for the first days of his presidency include launching a large-scale deportation of illegal immigrants, reversing the Biden administration’s education policy, reorganizing the federal government, which includes firing thousands of officials whom Trump considers hostile to him, and pardoning the participants in the January 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol.
Komersant ukrainskyi has analyzed in detail the conditions under which negotiations can take place, what Ukraine will agree to, and how the talks could affect US military assistance to Ukraine.
Information from Western media is not true
In an exclusive commentary for , political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko expressed his thoughts on possible peace talks on the war in Ukraine after Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.
According to him, statements that negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine would begin before Trump becomes president were made even before the results of the US presidential election were announced. Therefore, the information in the Associated Press may contradict previous statements.
“In particular, it was said that Trump was seeking to reach a peace agreement before his inauguration. However, this information now contradicts previous statements and looks very uncertain,”
– explains the political scientist.
According to Fesenko, there is currently no official plan or coordinated strategy to end the war in Ukraine. And the information that comes in is often contradictory, and it cannot be called a clear plan by Trump. It looks more like chaos and the process of forming different ideas and proposals.
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Peace talks – to be or not to be?
However, at the same time, the political expert emphasizes the importance of the negotiations for Ukraine. According to him, Ukraine will have to agree to them because there is simply no other way out.
“If we refuse to negotiate, there is a high probability that military aid will be cut off, which is the worst scenario for the country,”
– Fesenko said.
The political analyst says that Ukraine will not refuse to negotiate, but there will be clear “red lines” in these negotiations. For example, we will not recognize the Russian status of the occupied territories.
“We can agree to the cessation of hostilities along the front line, but this does not mean that we recognize the territories occupied by Russia as part of Russia,”
– Fesenko emphasized.
There will be no concessions from Ukraine in the negotiations
Volodymyr Fesenko also emphasized that Ukraine will not agree to unilateral concessions, in particular, to reduce the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“This is one of Putin’s main goals in the war, and for us the issue of a powerful army is a matter of security for the post-war period,”
– he said.
In addition, Fesenko highlighted another “red line” for Ukraine: refusal of Russia’s demands for denazification, rehabilitation of pro-Russian forces and the abolition of a number of legislative acts. In general, Fesenko says that Ukraine has a clear position, which includes defining its own “red lines,” and is ready to participate in peace talks, but only on its own terms.
Thus, Ukraine should be ready for negotiations, but any concessions in favor of Russia, including the reduction of the army or the recognition of the occupied territories, are unacceptable. And Ukraine’s position in the peace talks will be clear: no unilateral concessions, preservation of territorial integrity and a powerful army are fundamental conditions for any agreements.
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Author: Daryna Glushchenko
