44 percent of Ukrainians believe that the time has come to start peace talks with Russia, 35 percent were against, 21 percent were difficult to answer. This is indicated by the results of a survey conducted by the Ukrainian Center for Economic and Political Research "Alexander Razumkov".
The poll found that 49 percent of the residents of Central Ukraine calmly accept the information about starting peace negotiations with Russia. In the western part of the country, however, this indicator is much lower - 35 percent, and in eastern Ukraine - 33 percent.
To the question of whether to cancel the decree on the impossibility of conducting negotiations with Putin, issued by Volodymyr Zelensky in October 2022, 32 percent of the respondents answered positively. 37 percent believe that the decree can remain in force.
Most Ukrainians are against peace on Putin's terms
At the same time, the vast majority of Ukrainians are of the opinion that the country should not agree to the "peace" terms proposed by Vladimir Putin. 83 percent said they would not agree with the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. 77 percent opposed the lifting of international sanctions on Russia imposed on it because of the war.
For 51.5 percent of the survey participants, the minimum condition for peace with Russia remains the return of Ukraine to the borders of 1991. Despite the disagreement with Vladimir Putin's proposal, most Ukrainians (76 percent) are sure that the Russian president allows peace only on his terms. 47 percent suggest that Putin is ready to "bargain" because the war is costing the Russian economy too much.
Zelensky allows peace talks with Russia
At the end of June, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in an interview with the edition "The Philadelphia Inquirer" that he allows the possibility of conducting peace negotiations with Vladimir Putin through international mediators on the principle used in agreeing the deal on the Black Sea Grain Corridor. "This model was applied for the first time when Ukraine negotiated not with Russia, but with the UN and Turkey. They, in turn, took responsibility for negotiating with us, then signing the corresponding agreements with Russia. And so it happened: two mirror agreements, between which are the UN and Turkey", he explained.
What Putin says about the negotiations with Ukraine
On June 14, in his speech to the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Vladimir Putin named the conditions under which Moscow would be ready to end hostilities in Ukraine. Among them are: the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions; guarantees of neutral status by Kiev; recognition of the annexation of Crimea, as well as - that the four mentioned areas are Russian territory.
Recently the Spanish newspaper "El Pais" wrote, citing confidential information from EU sources, that Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping expect peace talks with Ukraine to begin by the end of this year.
Author: Alexey Voloshinov