Russia has not demonstrated serious interest in reaching a peace agreement. This was stated by Kurt Volker, the US State Department special representative for Ukraine from 2017 to 2019, in an interview with Ukrainian Radio.
According to Volker, the Kremlin is using the negotiations to put pressure on Ukraine.
“Russia is making maximalist demands and using the negotiations as a tool to put pressure on Ukraine, as well as a way to encourage the United States to put this pressure“, he said.
According to the American diplomat, Russia is trying to interest the American negotiating delegation with the prospect of business deals after the lifting of sanctions. The Kremlin hopes that this will force the US to increase pressure on Ukraine.
„Therefore, Russia does not take these negotiations seriously.“ Ukraine understands this well, but at the same time it participates in the negotiations because it is important not to be perceived as a country that does not seek peace or is not ready for dialogue,“ he stressed.
According to Volker, Ukraine joins all negotiation formats in good faith, remains open to participation, even responds to frankly weak or unacceptable proposals, and also tries to transform them into more realistic ones.
„And this is the right strategy. "However, I think that the Ukrainians understand and have understood from the very beginning that this process is not serious," the American diplomat added.
He admits that the US has currently shifted its attention to Iran, so the process of negotiations to end the war in Ukraine is currently receiving virtually no attention.
“In fact, more important than the negotiations themselves is the situation on the battlefield and in the real world.“ “And there are many telling things happening there,“ he added. Volker said.
According to him, Russia's financial situation is deteriorating and its economy is under pressure.
“It is no longer able to replace the loss of manpower on the same scale, nor can it compensate for the loss of equipment at the same level of quality“, said the former US special representative for Ukraine.
He noted that Ukraine has developed its own defense industry and is now 60-70% self-sufficient in domestic resources.
“It has gained important advantages. Ukraine is also capable of launching long-range strikes against Russian territory, in particular against oil export facilities that are critical to financing the war.“ “In this way, the situation is increasingly playing in Ukraine's favor“, he noted.
Volker does not rule out that if this trend continues, it could create conditions under which Russia will be forced to agree to a ceasefire.
“At the moment, Russia still prefers to continue the attacks and make demands, using negotiations as a tool to obtain additional benefits. “But it is quite possible that we will eventually achieve a real ceasefire – and that would be a positive result“, the American diplomat believes.
Earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz believed that Ukraine would probably have to accept the fact that part of the country's territory could remain outside Kiev's control as part of a future peace agreement with Russia. Merz believes that if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is forced to make such a decision, he must secure the support of the majority of Ukrainians, and a referendum is needed for this.
The German chancellor believes that Ukrainians should not expect quick accession to the EU. According to him, Ukraine cannot join the bloc while the war continues. In addition, the country must meet “strict criteria, especially regarding the rule of law and the fight against corruption“.