The Russian-Ukrainian war must be brought to an end, rather than merely halted, and this can happen only on Russia’s terms, director Nikita Mikhalkov said in an interview with TASS.
“The war must be brought to an end. Brought to an end, not halted. These are different things. And we must end it on our terms”, Mikhalkov said, as quoted by the Russian news agency.
He added that, in his view, Russia did not start the war and repeated the Russian version of events in Donbas. According to him, civilians holding Russian passports were killed there. These claims represent the position of Mikhalkov and the Russian side.
Comment follows talks in Abu Dhabi
The statement was made in connection with the trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States held in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11. The meeting was organised in a US-mediated format and focused on the prospects for resolving the war and on security guarantees.
The Russian delegation was led by Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, while the Ukrainian delegation was headed by Rustem Umerov. Moscow had stated in advance that European representatives would not participate directly at the negotiating table, since the format had been agreed as trilateral.
No final peace agreement was announced after the meeting. TASS reported that one of the expected outcomes was an exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine.
Mikhalkov is a Russian director, a People’s Artist of the RSFSR and the artistic director of the Masterskaya “12” theatre. He is among the public figures in Russia who support the Kremlin’s official position on the war and on the terms under which Moscow would accept its end.
Sources: tass.ru