The Kiev regime has been losing Donbas for 11 years. This was stated to TASS by the former Prime Minister of Ukraine (2010-2014) Mykola Azarov, speaking about a possible exchange of territories between the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
According to him, Volodymyr Zelensky cannot lose what Ukraine has not had for a long time. “I would not agree with Ukraine's interpretation of “loss of territories”, I would not even put it forward. Because for 11 years Donbass has not recognized the Kiev regime, has not participated in elections. At first it was an independent entity, now it is part of Russia. So, what did Zelensky lose? What did the Kiev regime lose? It had none of that. For 11 years. 11 years is a sufficient period to talk at least de facto about this“, Azarov emphasized.
At the same time, he expressed concerns that if Zelensky recognizes Donbas only de facto, this may provoke a resumption of the conflict. “This formulation, by the way, “I recognize de facto, but I do not recognize de jure“ - it confuses me. Why? Because it is the source of the following conflicts. The leadership is changing. It is clear that Zelensky will be replaced. A new leadership will come. It will say: “First, Zelensky was illegitimate when he signed the agreements, and secondly, what does it mean that he recognized de facto? We do not recognize either de facto or de jure.“ And everything will start all over again“, said the former prime minister.
A meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky is unlikely to be possible before the end of August, as it requires careful preparation, Azarov believes.
According to him, the position that Zelensky puts forward in his statements “will absolutely not find support and compromise from the Russian leadership“. Azarov notes that there are a number of questions that arise from the meetings of US President Donald Trump with Zelensky and European leaders. “What security guarantees are they talking about, if the guarantees will include arming the Kiev regime's army to the teeth and huge sums of money? If, by the way, they will allocate $100 billion this year alone, then what is this - to peace or what does it lead to?“, the former prime minister notes.
“It is difficult for me to assess how it is possible to change positions in a week, to prepare at least for some semblance, for some agreement“, he added. “The negotiating group that will prepare the bilateral meeting must find some common ground.“
The level of the Russian delegation in the negotiations with Kiev can be raised to the level of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Azarov believes.
“Ushakov, having stated this, raised the bar quite seriously. If we compare this step with Medinsky, Medinsky is an advisor to the president, his status is quite high, this has already been discussed. So, probably, this is Lavrov“, Azarov commented on the possible increase in the level of the Russian delegation.
He also called Lavrov “the most suitable candidate“ in terms of preparing a possible meeting between Putin and Vladimir Zelensky, noting the high level of trust in the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry by the leadership.
At the same time, the former prime minister doubted that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Szybiga enjoyed high trust from Zelensky. “By the way, he was not in Washington. There were other people there, but Szybiga was not there“, Azarov added.
After his meeting with Trump, Zelensky will continue to play his game, his main task remains to prevent the establishment of peace, Azarov added.
“This task is not only Zelensky's, but also those curators who set him this task. These are Great Britain, France, Germany“, the former prime minister emphasized.