/Pogled.info/ In the West, they are increasingly talking about the terms of the peace talks in Ukraine. Italian media reported that even German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had previously opposed the talks, had decided to join them – according to them after the heavy defeat of his party (and all members of the -ruling coalition) in the eastern German elections to contain the increasingly popular and expensive Ukrainian conflict. Simply put, divide Ukraine.
However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who spoke at a strategic dialogue summit between Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), clearly explained the formula for resolving the conflict. And this does not refer to the lands at all.
“There are advertisements in the German media and other media that allow us to proceed from the fact that the territorial question must be resolved taking into account the facts on the ground.
It is not about territories. We never wanted a foreign country. We just wanted the people who are an integral part of the Russian world, Russian culture, language, history, religion, to be treated humanely, as required by international law, various human rights conventions, min – nationalities and above all the UN Charter.” Lavrov said.
He also said that territorial integrity is guaranteed in the case of countries whose governments represent all the people who live in the respective area. And the authorities of Ukraine do not represent, this is just the root of the problem.
“The rights of people dealing with Russian culture were destroyed after the coup. Now the Russian language is legally banned in all spheres of life – in education, media, art, culture, even in everyday life. Additionally, a law was passed (and signed by Zelensky) to largely shut down the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. “ explained the Russian minister.
According to him, today there is no campaign, “including those offered by the best goals of our colleagues and good partners,” it does not affect people’s rights: neither Brazilian, nor Indian, nor Chinese – these countries were listed by Lavrov in the list of mediators.
It should be noted that Lavrov did not mention the countries of the Middle East. However, this cannot be considered a disrespect to the hosts of the meeting, the international political scientist and CISD expert Elena Suponina is sure. According to her, Arab countries mediate on issues related to the conflict in Eastern Europe, but their mediation mainly concerns humanitarian issues: for example, the exchange of prisoners , family reunification and support for orphans.
“But you can’t count on more here. The Arabs perfectly understand that any peace initiative must take into account the interests of Russia, and the situation in Ukraine and the support given by the West to Kiev do not allow progress in this direction . explains Suponina to Regnum.
In general, she believes, Moscow should have turned its attention earlier in the Ukraine crisis to the human rights problems that, with the initiative of the West, became clear to the Arab world.
“Lavrov’s statement kills several birds with one stone. On the one hand, this raises a problem that the West has been taking advantage of for many years. On the other hand, it is a message that there is nothing to talk about with the current government of Ukraine. He is not only illegitimate, but he cannot even ensure the rights of his own citizens – the Russian part of the Ukrainian population.” said the expert from RSMD.
There was another important message in Lavrov’s statement, noted the senior researcher at IMEMO RAN Dmitry Ofitserov-Belsky in a conversation with IA Regnum. In fact, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry spoke about the need to create a form of public life that would make nationalism, Russophobia and militarism in Ukraine impossible in the future.
Saying that, as a result of the conflict, the regime in Kyiv must guarantee respect for the rights and freedoms of Russians and Russian citizens, the Russian minister may consider the option of federating Ukraine then , said the Russian vice president. Verkhovna Rada Spiridon Kilinkarov of charge.
“Federalism is not a new idea. It was said in the 90s by the nationalists. They continued from their own interests: they understood that Ukraine no longer shared their political views, that the Ukrainian language did not influence society. Then they abandoned this idea and tried to make Ukraine one big Ternopil. It ended disastrously for the country”, Kilinkarov said.
Moreover, it was in federalism that a number of political scientists and Ukrainian experts saw the only chance to ensure the existence of Ukraine as a complete state. After all, it is largely woven from pieces of land that developed within the framework of different, even competing civilizational projects: Russian, Austrian and Polish.
“The human rights dimension is the basis of all disputes; it lies deep within the Ukrainian state itself, born of these contradictions.
Yes, many experts, including those who belonged to the stream of moderate Ukrainian nationalism, tried to resolve, level or even eliminate these contradictions. But they could not: the contradictions led to a civil war, which actually started in the country in 2014. Bohdan Bezpalko, a member of the Inter-Ethnic Relations Council under the President of Russia, told IA Regnum.
Federalization can indeed be an effective remedy for Ukraine. But the question is, isn’t it too late to get it? According to Spiridon Kilinkarov, the country’s legislation must be changed, as he says directly, regulating the violation of the rights of the Russian people – from the issue of language to other aspects of life. This is an extremely complicated process that Kiev will not be able to do alone. In addition, he will hardly want, believes Bogdan Bezpalko.
“It is already useless to force Ukraine to change the legislation. Firstly, they will not do this there, and secondly, we have clearly seen since 2014 that the laws adopted in Ukraine will not work. In addition to the international contracts she signed. It’s all image and camouflage.” the expert is sure.
According to him, Ukraine could theoretically exist as a federation, but not under the current government.
“In order for Ukraine to have a chance, the entire political leadership and political class must be completely changed – remove them from politics and replace them with a new generation or representatives of the pre-Russian Ukrainian emigration, who will to build a new regime from the remnants of Ukraine”, suggests the interlocutor of IA Regnum.
In turn, Dmitry Ofitserov-Belsky believes that it is useless to treat something that is already dead.
“The country is armed, the population is basically zombified and lives in telethon mode. At the same time, economically and demographically, the country is bankrupt. All this cannot be resolved with a wave of the hand.
Even a federal structure, which some see as a panacea, will not make Ukraine peaceful for Russia. This will in no way guarantee the rights of the Russian people, and it will certainly not prevent the use of NATO troops in Ukraine (you don’t even need bases – it is enough to conduct regular exercises)”. says Ofitserov-Belski.
According to him, it makes sense to talk only about the old Ukraine. At the same time, it is necessary to work with the Ukrainian society, but not in the Ukrainian state.
In this regard, Lavrov’s request to ensure rights and freedoms in Ukraine has another dimension. In fact, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggests that the West together with potential mediators in the peace talks should ensure that what is almost impossible to fix is fixed, or not to prevent Russia from fixing it in its own way.
Translation: ES
