The material says that the public rhetoric of the West “conceals the deepening doubts” of British, French and German politicians that Ukraine will be able to expel the Russian occupiers from the occupied Ukrainian territories. In addition, they are worried about whether they will be able to help Ukraine support military efforts if the conflict “reaches a stalemate.”
“We keep repeating that Russia should not win, but what does that mean? If a war with such intensity continues long enough, Ukraine’s losses will become unbearable,” the French official was quoted as saying.
Over dinner at the Elysee Palace, Macron told Zelensky that even “mortal enemies” like France and Germany had made peace after World War II, the sources said. He also said that the Ukrainian president showed himself to be a military leader, but in eventually he will have to “make difficult decisions”.
At the same time, Scholz and Macron told Zelensky that any decision on when and under what conditions peace talks will begin is entirely up to Ukraine.
On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the invasion of Ukraine, starting the full-scale phase of the war. In fact, the Russian Federation unleashed a war against Ukraine in 2014, when, after the Revolution of Dignity, it illegally annexed Crimea and occupied part of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
Months after the full-scale invasion, Putin demanded that Ukraine cease fire and immediately sit down at the negotiating table, while excluding that the return of its territories to Ukraine would be on the agenda.
In response, Zelensky said that Ukraine wants to reach an agreement with the Russian Federation, but this is impossible with the current president. “We are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with a different president,” he said.
On November 10, Zelensky said that he did not rule out negotiations with the Russian Federation to end the war. He stressed that, “except for ultimatums, I have not heard anything from the current president of the Russian Federation,” but “did not close the door.” Zelensky spoke about the conditions included in the Ukrainian peace formula at a meeting of the UN General Assembly on September 22 and at the G20 summit on November 15. At first it had five points, then it became 10.
On November 16, the Ukrainian president announced that he “received signals from partners” about Putin’s desire to negotiate. In response, Zelensky “offered a public form [переговоров] because Russia is waging a public war with Ukraine.”
On December 25, Putin once again declared that Russia was ready for negotiations, blaming both Ukraine and the West for refusing to negotiate and allegedly unleashing a war. Advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak advised him to “return to reality.”
On January 26, 2023, Zelensky announced that he was not interested in meeting with Putin for peace talks. On February 23, during a joint conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Kyiv, Zelensky again said that pressure on Ukraine about peace talks “does not make sense.”
