Talks only about reparations
Ukraine rules out talks with Putin
3/3/2023 4:48 am
The Ukrainian leadership considers calls to find a diplomatic solution with the aggressor Russia completely out of the question. Defense Minister Resnikov makes that clear. He is counting on the war being decided on the battlefield before the end of this year – also with western fighter jets.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov categorically rejects negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. His President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said very clearly “that we will not negotiate with the current head of the Kremlin,” Resnikov told the “Bild” newspaper. Ukraine will only talk about “reparations, an international tribunal and responsibility for the war crimes committed by Kremlin personnel.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had just promoted his idea for an international mediation initiative during a video link with Selenskyj. “I have reiterated Brazil’s desire to speak to other countries and engage in any peacemaking and dialogue initiative,” Lula wrote on Twitter. War could “be in nobody’s interest”.
At the same time, Reznikov was optimistic that the war in his country will end in the course of this year with the recapture of all Russian-occupied territories. “I am an optimist, I see the situation on the battlefield, I see the development of the support and I really see that there is a chance to end this war with our victory this year.”
Skepticism about security guarantees
At the same time, he was convinced that the West would soon be supplying fighter jets to his country: “I’m sure that we will get two or three different types of fighter jets,” he told “Bild”. Western partners have signaled to Ukraine that they are ready to start training pilots. They understand that fighter jets are the next step in strengthening the air defense system, the minister said. However, he does not yet know when a delivery can be expected.
The defense minister reacted cautiously to the security promises made by Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Bundestag for Ukraine after the end of the war. “Ukraine must receive real security guarantees,” Resnikov demanded. He recalled that his country had previously received such guarantees that it would give up its nuclear weapons. “That did not work.”
Scholz had reaffirmed the main features of his Ukraine policy in the Bundestag on Thursday: He emphasized Ukraine’s right to sovereignty and self-defense and announced that German support would continue indefinitely. At the same time, he held out the prospect of security commitments from the allies to Ukraine for the post-war period.