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https://www.newsweek.com/russia-may-have-just-given-ukraine-terms-ending-war-1829980
Russia May Have Just Given Ukraine Terms for Ending War
BY JON JACKSON ON 9/26/23 AT 3:28 PM EDT
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Atop Kremlin official on Saturday suggested Russia could agree to an end
to the war in Ukraine if a key condition is met.
During a press conference at the United Nations General Assembly,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated Russia would recognize Ukraine's borders prior to Moscow's invasion if Kyiv pledges to not join
a military alliance.
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin began the war on February 24,
2022, he and Kremlin officials have cited various justifications for the conflict. But one of the most frequently stated reasons is Putin's
opposition to the expansion of NATO on his country's borders, and he is
said to be especially against Ukraine becoming a member of the military
bloc.
Lavrov told reporters that in 1991, Moscow "recognized the sovereignty
of Ukraine on the basis of the Declaration of Independence, which it
adopted upon leaving the USSR."
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Split image of Putin and Zelensky
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) delivers a speech during the
State Council's Presidium on September 21, 2023, in Veliky Novgorod,
Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a press conference
on September 6, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. A Kremlin official suggested
Russia may be open to ending the war in Ukraine if Kyiv agrees to not
join a military alliance.
PHOTOS BY YAN DOBRONOSOV/GLOBAL IMAGES UKRAINE/GETTY IMAGES
"One of the main points for us was that Ukraine would be a non-aligned
country and would not enter into any military alliances," Lavrov said.
"Under those conditions, we support the territorial integrity of this
state."
George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government professor
Mark N. Katz told Newsweek that "Ukraine's 1990 Declaration of State Sovereignty does indeed proclaim Ukraine to be a 'permanently neutral
state that does not participate in military blocs.'
"Lavrov's statement, then, does imply that Moscow would recognize
Ukraine's 1990 borders if Ukraine foreswore membership in NATO."
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Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via
email for comment.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pushing since the start
of the war for his country to be made part of NATO, and his efforts have
gained the support of key NATO officials. But even if Zelensky agreed to relinquish the bid for NATO membership in order to end the war, Ukraine
would likely still find a sticking point on the issue of Crimea.
Putin invaded and annexed Crimea in 2014, and Zelensky has vowed to
reclaim the peninsula as part of his nation. Following the breakup of
the Soviet Union, Crimea was declared Ukraine's, which has led some to speculate that Lavrov may have hinted that Russia could be willing to
give up the region.
Katz said that while Crimea was a province of Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1990, he has a feeling that "Lavrov's statement might not be definitive, and that there may be further 'clarification' about it that
is not so generous toward Ukraine.
"Still, if Moscow just wants to end the war, it may be able to portray forestalling Ukraine from joining NATO as a victory even if it means
renouncing Russian claims to occupied Ukrainian territory.
"But I'm not sure Putin can do this as it would raise the question of
whether the enormous casualties experienced by Russian forces in this
conflict were worth such an agreement—assuming that Ukraine and NATO governments would agree to it."
David Silbey, an associate professor of history at Cornell and director
of teaching and learning at Cornell in Washington, told Newsweek that he
found Lavrov's statement and how it relates to Crimea "ambiguous, which
is interesting in and of itself.
"It would have been easy for Lavrov to make the distinction clear, but
he didn't, and he wouldn't do something like this without having
clearance from Putin. They both have to know that this would immediately
raise questions about Crimea."
Even if Russia isn't willing to return Crimea to Ukraine, Lavrov's
comments could be interpreted to mean Putin might relinquish his claim
to the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. A year ago,
Putin announced that the four Ukrainian regions were annexed to Russia
in a move that the international community called illegitimate.
"In terms of the four territories, I think, yes, it does suggest that
the Russians are willing to give them back," Silbey said.
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affable699
14 hours ago
"Lavrov told reporters that in 1991, Moscow "recognized the sovereignty
of Ukraine on the basis of the Declaration of Independence, which it
adopted upon leaving the USSR.".
And they broke that deal and it was a deal that was signed by Russia,
Ukraine, the U.S. and the U.K. for purposes of imperiali...
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Michaelandolga
19 hours ago
As we begin to get into the Fall and Winter in Ukraine, I suspect
Russia’s soldiers will fare even more poorly than they did last winter.
Russia is running into a bare cupboards problem, running short of nearly everything. Add to that abysmal morale and it will be a bleak winter
indeed for Russian s...
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Florrie
17 hours ago
Yup, the cold winds of fear are swirling along the corridors of the
kremlin. That's why lying lavrov has been told to run this maskirovka operation.
The bad news for russia is that there will be no negotiations. There's
no need for them. The position has long been made clear and unambiguous.
The ter...
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USDeclines2023
18 hours ago
If that was really the offer, Ukraine should grab the chance. Being used
as a tool by the US to fight Russia cannot last forever. The US is
running out of money and weapons. So are the rest of NATO's members.
There's no way that Ukraine can win. Russia is not running out of
weapons and they are pre...
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Hannibal Barca
20 hours ago
NO, just No.
Russia will back down, rearm and try again and again. It cannot be trusted.
Keep the pressure on, until the original borders are reinstated and
secured. No need for heroics.
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Rick From CT
16 hours ago
I agree, Putin needs to be seen as so weakened that he couldn't attempt
to retake Ukraine even if he wanted to. Then, Russia will need a new
president.
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konck
16 hours ago
Echo. Ukraine without the backing of NATO is a punching bag, little hope
of re naturalizing citizens including children, suing for reparations,
and bringing war criminals to accountability.
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John
18 hours ago
NATO was never the issue in the first place. This is a trick to get
Ukraine into a cease fire so the Russians can re-group and re-supply for
a spring offensive. Too much is being read into Lavrov's informal remark.
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2 replies
GoldToast
20 hours ago
ruzzia's hurting. The talks with Kim may have not gone as expected and
they can't afford politically to have another mass mobilization.
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DragonDuck
20 hours ago
The world laughed at Russian demands in late 2021 when they first made them.
Now Russia wants to make the same demands again after losing nearly
300,000 soldiers, hundreds of billions in military equipment, and
ruining its economy.
How about... "nyet"?
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TheRepublicIsDead
4 minutes ago
These are not the same demands. The Donbass, Crimea, Zaporizhe and
Kherson are now part of the Russian Federation. That means Russia will
only withdraw from Kharkov. And NATO has to bail out.
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Ghem Nemik
20 hours ago
No. Agreeing to that would allow Russia to regroup and do it again.
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Reality Sets In
20 hours ago
This is why they are offering it. They already know they can’t win, and
are looking for a way out.
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3 replies
Day Watch
20 hours ago
Ukraine could have a defense agreement with a Coslition of the Willing
led by the USA. The UK, Poland and some other countries could guarantee
Ukraine against a Russian invasion.
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Michaelandolga
20 hours ago
Russia’s starting to understand it will lose this war.
However, Ukraine must not give in to any of Russia’s demands. Russia
needs to suffer a crushing defeat in this war in order to oust Putin -
and that can be the only equitable outcome.
The Russian people need to rise up and liquidate this man and ...
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DaveFromBoca
20 hours ago
Love the creative use of the word “liquidated”, and could not agree more with you…
Plus, the US and NATO have benefited (at a great cost by arms donations)
by using this tragic war as a “proving ground” for new munitions that
have been developed but never deployed before on a real-world
battlefield....
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Don P
18 hours ago
It is irrelevant how russia spins it, Ukraine will hate russia for
generations.
How easy it is for you to sit safely at home and demand thousands of Ukrainian's must die to satisfy your blood lust. What Ukraine needs to
do is what is best for them and their future security. No they cannot
allow russ...
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Mark Dell
12 hours ago
So Russian gives back the four territories it seized and Crimea too.
After five or so years to rebuild its armed forces, military equipment,
and produce better generals; what do you think they would do next?
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eric zimmerman
10 hours ago
Ukraine kicks them in the teeth again except this time they have F-16's
and himars to start with and a world class defense industrial base? Lol. Ukraine will probably be military powerhouse after the war. So many
countries have invested billions of $ on defense contracts with them
already. Idk how ...
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Mapk
17 hours ago
Russian soldiers can ride personnel carriers or Ubers back to Russia but
leave their equipment (weapons) in working order.
High level leaders leave immediately and low level leaders oversee the departure of the troops.
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