The status of Crimea and Donbas emerge as the two great obstacles to closing an agreement
The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, has declared that right now Russia and Ukraine are close to agreeing on “fundamental points” of a possible peace agreement or, at the very least, of a ceasefire in the Ukrainian territory, invaded by Moscow last February 24.
Cavusoglu has detected a “convergence” in the position of both countries on the first four articles of the six that are being discussed in the negotiations that delegations from both countries have been engaging in for days, according to the diplomat told the newspaper ‘Hurriyet’, where he has reiterated the will of his country to continue acting as the main mediator between both sides.
According to the adviser to the Turkish Presidency, Ibrahim Kalin, these four articles refer to Ukraine’s withdrawal from joining NATO, the country’s disarmament and mutual security guarantees, the so-called ‘denazification of Ukraine’ (a broadly, Moscow’s demand for the elimination of ultra-nationalist elements in the Ukrainian government) and the lifting of restrictions on the use of the Russian language.
Despite these supposedly good prospects, Cavusoglu recalled that the delegations are in no way qualified to close the negotiation on these aspects, a final decision that remains in the hands of the presidents of Ukraine and Russia: Volodimir Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.
According to Kalin, points five and six represent the two biggest obstacles in the negotiation: the status of Crimea — incorporated by Russia in 2014 after an invasion and subsequent plebiscite not recognized by Ukraine or its allies — and the separatist region of Donbas. , in the east of the country, comprising the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.
It was precisely to this last point that Zelenskiy referred this Sunday in an interview with the US network CNN, to which he assured that “he will not give up an iota of Ukraine’s sovereignty or territorial integrity.”
“We need to find a model through which Ukraine does not lose its sovereignty and territorial integrity. We can never agree with such a scenario, but a model of understanding is needed to avoid new conflicts over the temporarily occupied territories,” he declared. Zelenski, using the official denomination with which the Ukrainian Government describes both republics.
Also and once again, Zelenski has declared that he is “ready to negotiate” with Putin as long as both parties assume the scope of said meeting, which if it fails would drag the world into “a third world war.”
“I have been preparing to negotiate with him for two years, and I believe that without this negotiation we cannot stop this war”, he indicated before highlighting his list of “priorities” with a view to a possible agreement: “ceasefire, security guarantees, sovereignty, restoration of territorial integrity and genuine protection for Ukraine”.