Any deal to put an end to the almost four-year war between Russia and Ukraine should also contain categorical security assurances to Moscow, one of the senior Russian diplomats said on Tuesday, highlighting one of the main Kremlin requirements in continuing peace talks.
According to the newspaper Izvestia, deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, said that although Russia recognizes the need to take into account the security concerns of Ukraine, the interests of Moscow security are center stage to any workable resolution.
Grushko said that a future peace arrangement had to mirror the security requirements of Ukraine. Nevertheless, the security interests of Russia is a determining factor. A peace agreement cannot work just without its consideration.
Grushko maintained that the leaders of European Union have done very little to represent assurances to Russia, and he referred to it as a major blemish in the present peace plans. To him, there can never be a complete and viable deal without such assurances.
Two rounds of the Russian and Ukrainian talks have been conducted in the recent weeks with the involvement of the U.S. in the United Arab Emirates. Though the talks have not reached any breakthrough on ceasefire or political settlement, the two parties agreed on the latest tryst to implement the first prisoner-of-war exchange in five months.
Security assurances have become one of the most debatable and delicate in the negotiations along with the concern regarding the territorial control and the prospects of rebuilding Ukraine after the war. On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that draft papers defining security guarantees to Ukraine were already ready.
Izvestia reported that Grushko identified a number of factors that Moscow feels should be part of an ultimate deal. These echo the long-term Russian requirements, which include that Ukraine should not be a part of NATO, the deployment of NATO soldiers on Ukrainian soil should not be done, and the military threats directed to the Russian territory should stop using Ukraine as a platform.
Although they both have accepted to resume negotiations, there is yet to be a date announced as to when the next round will take place. According to Zelenskiy, new negotiations will probably be conducted in the United States in the future.