Russia is open to negotiating an end to the Ukraine war if US President-elect Donald Trump takes the lead, but any talks must be based on the reality of Russian progress, Moscow’s ambassador told reporters on Thursday. before the United Nations in Geneva.
Trump has repeatedly criticized the scale of Western aid to kyiv and has promised to end the conflict quickly, without explaining how. His victory in the Nov. 5 presidential election has raised concerns in kyiv and other European capitals about the degree of future U.S. commitment to helping Ukraine.
«Trump promised to resolve the Ukrainian crisis overnight. Okay, let’s be realistic: we understand that, of course, that will never happen,” Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, said in Geneva. “But if it starts or suggests something to start the political process, welcome.”
He added that any such negotiations had to be based on what he called the “realities on the ground,” describing Ukraine as a country that is at a disadvantage in the conflict that has now lasted more than two years.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated that peace cannot be established until all Russian forces are expelled and all territory captured by Moscow, including Crimea, is returned.
The “victory plan” he outlined last month maintained that provision, as well as an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO, long denounced by Russia.
Zelenskyy told European leaders last week in Budapest that concessions to Russia would be “unacceptable for Ukraine and suicidal for all of Europe.”
Gatilov indicated that Trump’s election represented a new possibility for dialogue with the United States, but that a broader restoration of relations was unlikely.
«Regardless of internal political changes, (Washington) systematically seeks to contain Moscow. (…) The change of administration alters this objective little,” said Gatilov.
“The only possible change is dialogue between our countries, something that has been lacking in recent years,” he added.
#Russia #negotiate #peace #Ukraine #Trump #takes #initiative #representative #Diario #Página
