The Kremlin suddenly thinks of the Zelenskyy-Putin summit - but also hands over a new list of demands

Created: 03/12/2022, 07:15

By: Florian Naumann

In 2019, a good two years before the Ukraine war, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin met in Paris.

© Ian Langsdon/doa

Will Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin personally negotiate a solution to the Ukraine war?

The Kremlin does not rule that out - but there is still a long way to go.

Russian/Moscow - Can there still be a negotiated solution to the Ukraine war?

A first meeting at ministerial level on Thursday did not bring any breakthrough.

But the Kremlin surprised the next day with its fundamental readiness for a direct summit with the heads of state Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyj.

A possible host is already available.

Ukraine war: Kremlin does not rule out meetings between Putin and Zelenskyj - but makes demands

Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov on Friday did not rule out a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy on the Ukraine conflict*.

However, he made conditions.

Before that, "both delegations and ministers would have to do their part to ensure that the presidents meet not for the sake of the process, not for the sake of discussion, but for the sake of the result".

So Moscow will initially want to see further talks at a lower level - and probably also concessions.

Ironically, after the meeting of Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov and Dmytro Kuleba, experts doubted Moscow's serious will to talk.

The date was an event for Russia "to make itself interesting" and "to bring the old tirades back to the public," ex-Nato General Egon Ramms told the Phoenix broadcaster.

He judged the negotiations to be at least partly “fake”.

At the meeting in Turkey, Lavrov had already made well-known and highly controversial allegations against Ukraine and the West.

According to Peskov, Russia has also handed over other concrete demands for peace to Ukraine.

Specifically, it is about the advancement of NATO infrastructure on Russia's western borders and Ukraine's actions in Donbass, he said, according to the Interfax agency: "As far as we know, the Ukrainians are discussing these demands with their advisers, primarily from the USA and from EU countries. ”Putin went on the offensive on Friday – and announced troop transfers to NATO borders.

Russia's attacks in the Ukraine war continued.

Putin and Zelenskyj: summit possible?

Bulgaria offers itself as a host

Meanwhile, Bulgaria offered to host the possible negotiations.

Bulgaria can, for good reason, claim to be the site of such a meeting, said the Bulgarian head of state Rumen Radew*, who was confirmed in office at the end of 2021, on Friday in the Romanian-Bulgarian border town of Russe.

However, he did not give any details.

During the Eastern Bloc, Bulgaria was considered Moscow's most loyal ally, and Radev is also considered pro-Kremlin.

His country has also been a member of NATO since 2004.

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"We see that both sides are increasingly realizing that war is not a solution," said Radew.

Russia can win the war, but not the peace.

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