The world needs to clearly understand the Russian Federation terms of ceasefire being offered to Ukraine because that’s the starting point for any negotiations that would lead to the peaceful resolve of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Some of the aspects of the terms and conditions of these negotiations can easily be extracted from the Russian President’s speeches and his clear point of view in how he sese the matter getting resolved in the best interest of the world. At the top of the agenda for offer of peace talks by Russian Federation is its expectation from Ukraine that it will not join any military alliances against the Russian Federation in future. Besides remaining non-aligned Ukraine is also expected to stay neutral and retain a nuclear-free status. As a confidence building measure Ukraine is also expected to carry out demilitarization and denazification of the country. Russia expects Ukraine to recognize the Lugansk and Donetsk Republics and Kherson and Zaporizhia regions as Russian territories. To be more specific President Putin expects Ukraine to execute complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Luhansk and Donetsk republics and the Zaporizhia regions within the administrative borders that existed before their forces entered the region. Russia also expects that Crimea and Sevastopol would through international treaties gain their legal status as Russian territories so that this ongoing western propaganda of them not belonging to Russia is finally put to an end. And most importantly, the west should lift all sanctions imposed on Russia. These are the Russian conditions for any talks to begin on the matter of Ukraine’s future.
Russian policy on the matter of finding the peaceful solution to the Ukranian conflict is attached to Kiev’s commitment and declaration that it is ready to accept all these conditions and that Kiev shows through its practical actions such as the beginning the real withdrawal of troops from these regions. If Ukraine is serious in joining the talks and finding a peaceful way forward than it is expected to officially notify its commitment and refusal never to join NATO. If all these conditions are met than President Putin has clearly indicated that Russia will immediately order cease fire and subsequently the negotiations can begin.
On the part of Russia and as a good will gesture, President Putin has guaranteed the unhindered and safe withdrawal of Ukrainian units and formations. Moscow has also shown its willingness and readiness to sit down at the negotiating table anytime if all its demands are met. This political decision can only come from the current Ukrainian government as the new government can only be in power if elections are held in Ukraine. The Presidential elections to be held in Ukraine on 31 March 2024 but were not held because the current Ukrainian President wants to continue to stay in power and exercise and impose his western guided political will on the will of the people of Ukraine. Russia expects little from the current western supported Ukrainian regime but it keeps its fingers crossed for the possibility of a new president getting elected and assuming the office at this critical juncture in the life of this country.
The world must realize that this war will be a protracted war and prolonging it will only bring miseries in the lives of the Ukrainian people. Western provocation and NATO’s eastern encroachment has been the predatory geopolitical has put Ukraine in a very tight spot. To get out of it neither has the political will nor the military muscle to outlast Russia in this war. The more this war prolongs the more misery and destruction cause and so it is in the best interest of the world that not only this war comes to an end but also that the peace negotiations are built on conditions that ensures the neutrality of Ukraine and prevents the recurrence of conflict in the region. However, if Kiev and the Western capitals reject the Russian peace proposals, then the moral responsibility for the continuation of the bloodshed in this conflict will squarely lie on the shoulders of the western world. Retrospectively, if the conflict continues, it is expected that many battlefield realities on the ground will change and as the conditions on ground change so will change the Russian proposals for peace talks. Ideally, Ukraine and the western world should read the reality written on the wall and take President Putin’s and Russia’s offer for peace negotiations.
Russia is a great military power and all western assumptions that west’s military support to Ukraine and the sanctions it has imposed on Russia will break its will to fight have so far proven wrong. West’s political assumption that the people of Russia may revolt and stand up against President Putin has also proved wrong. People of Russia back their President and having fought patriotic wars in the past are not willing to allow United States and its allies to bring trouble in the region. Ukraine was Russia’s red line and it will continue to remain its red line. The people of Russia also understand the geopolitical context of Russia’s stand on this war and the special military operations that Russia initiated in Feb 2022 have already met their limited objectives, any delay on the part of Ukraine to accept the Russian cease fire offer only means that it may subject itself to greater military loss. It is time that the world seriously viewed the implications of a prolonged war in Ukraine and gave immediate attention to Russian ceasefire proposal.
