Deadlock in Ukraine negotiations: according to Zelenskyj, end of war "only possible through diplomacy".
Created: 05/22/2022, 04:55 am
By: Nail Akkoyun, Tanja Koch, Delia Friess, Sarah Neumeyer
Talks between Russia and Ukraine are suspended, the British Foreign Secretary wants to equip Moldova according to NATO standards: the news ticker.
Negotiations
in the Ukraine war:
Talks between the conflicting parties Russia and Ukraine are on hold for the time being.
Oil and gas deliveries:
Moscow continues to insist on payments in rubles.
You can find diplomatic news
in the Ukraine conflict in our news ticker.
+++ 16:38:
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the war in Ukraine can only be ended through diplomacy.
The war will be "bloody, there will be fierce fighting, but it will only end definitively through diplomacy," the head of state told Ukrainian television channel ICTV on Saturday (May 21).
"There are things that we can only achieve at the negotiating table," said Zelenskyy.
The results of the negotiations must be "just" for Ukraine.
According to the President of Ukraine, there should be a document on security guarantees for Ukraine, signed "by the friends and partners of Ukraine, without Russia".
At the same time, there should be “a bilateral discussion with Russia”.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine.
© Ukraine Presidency/dpa
Standstill in negotiations in the Ukraine war: Both sides hold each other responsible
Since the beginning of the Russian military operation in Ukraine at the end of February, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators had initially met regularly for negotiations or discussed a settlement of the conflict via video conference.
According to Russian news agencies, the last meeting of the two countries' chief negotiators took place on April 22nd.
Russia blames Ukraine for the deadlock.
"The talks are indeed not progressing and we note that Ukrainian negotiators have a complete lack of will to continue this process," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow on Wednesday.
Earlier, Ukraine said the talks had been suspended because of Russia's stance.
Moscow lacks understanding of "what is happening in the world right now and its extremely negative role," said Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak.
Ukraine negotiations: British Foreign Secretary wants to equip Moldova according to NATO standards
+++ 1:15 p.m .:
Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has criticized the federal government’s cautious course in view of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
Germany is "too hesitant to deliver heavy weapons and impose sanctions," Rasmussen told the Handelsblatt on Friday (May 20, 2022).
also read
Ukraine rejects ceasefire and makes final demands on Russia
But still a breakthrough when Finland and Sweden join NATO?
Erdogan is on the phone with his counterparts
“Of course, Germany is highly dependent on Russian gas imports, but I think a clear stance from the federal government would change the whole dynamic in Ukraine.
We need German leadership.” The Dane called on the Europeans to stop importing oil and gas from Russia immediately.
“Certainly an energy embargo will have a price.
But compared to the cost of a protracted war, that price would be small,” argued Rasmussen.
According to Rasmussen, the greatest risk is a war of attrition: “The Russians are experts at playing with unresolved conflicts.
We see this in Georgia, in Moldova and in Ukraine's Donbass region, which they invaded back in 2014.
We should do what is necessary to end this conflict quickly.” The most effective means is to stop the financing of Putin's war machine - and that is exactly why a halt to all oil and gas imports is needed.
Ukraine negotiations: British Foreign Secretary wants to equip Moldova according to NATO standards
Update from Saturday, May 21, 8:14 a.m .:
Since Russia poses a clear security threat to the Republic of Moldova, the country should be armed “to NATO standards”.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told The Telegraph.
She wants to ensure that not only Ukraine is "permanently able to defend itself" but also "vulnerable states" like Moldova.
"What we are currently working on is a joint commission with Ukraine and Poland to bring Ukraine's defenses up to NATO standards," Truss told The Telegraph.
This is also necessary for other endangered states such as the Republic of Moldova.
"Because the threat from Russia is even greater, we also have to make sure that they are equipped according to NATO standards," Truss is quoted as saying.
When asked if she wanted to supply Western weapons and intelligence to Moldova, Truss replied: "I would like Moldova to be equipped to NATO standards.
This is a discussion we are having with our allies.” Putin has clearly expressed his ambitions to create a bigger Russia.
+++ 8.10 p.m .:
In order to document crimes in Ukraine, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has sent observers to Ukraine.
The employees should document human rights violations and speak to those affected, as the OSCE Office for Democracy and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw announced.
So far, according to the Tagesschau, only conversations with refugees who had already found accommodation in neighboring countries of Ukraine were possible.
The OSCE focuses on crimes against the civilian population and prisoners of war.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague and UN human rights experts are also investigating possible war crimes in Ukraine.
Ukraine conflict: Italy presents plan for a possible end to the Ukraine war
+++ 19:19:
Italy has submitted a plan to the UN for a possible end to the Ukraine war.
Among other things, the proposal provides for the formation of an international mediation group with representatives of the UN, the EU and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio in Turin on Friday.
The aim is to proceed "step by step" in order to ultimately achieve "a lasting peace with a real peace agreement," said Di Maio.
For example, local ceasefires, the evacuation of civilians and safe escape corridors can be started.
He has already spoken to UN Secretary-General António Guterres about the proposal.
The details of the plan were not made public, but according to the Italian daily La Repubblica, the document envisages four steps: a ceasefire in Ukraine and the demilitarization of the front under UN supervision, negotiations on the status of Ukraine, a bilateral agreement between Kyiv and Moscow on Crimea and Donbass, and a multilateral agreement on peace and security in Europe.
According to the Italian proposal, Ukraine would join the EU but not NATO.
The disputed areas of Crimea and Donbass have “full autonomy” but are under Ukrainian sovereignty.
+++ 5 p.m .:
According to EU foreign policy representative Josep Borrell, Russia is taking military action against food production in Ukraine.
"Russian troops are bombing Ukrainian fields, preventing sowing, looting food supplies, blocking Ukrainian ports, thereby raising food and fertilizer prices," Borrell said in Brussels on Friday.
The food supply is in danger mainly because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Before the war, among other things, a quantity of wheat relevant to the world market was grown in Ukraine.
It's clear that people in low-income countries who depend on imports of food and fertilizer will be hit first, Borrell said.
He also contradicted claims from Russia that the EU sanctions against Moscow were primarily responsible for the price increases.
"This is a false statement by Russia." It is the war itself that is causing this food crisis and its soaring prices, he said.
The EU sanctions were not aimed at food and not at fertilisers.
The EU also does not prevent Russian exports in these areas.
Ukraine negotiations: Lambrecht announces tank deliveries
+++ 4.15 p.m .:
In July, Ukraine will receive the first 15 Gepard anti-aircraft gun tanks from German industry stocks.
This is the result of a conversation between Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht and her Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Resnikov on Friday, as the German Press Agency in Berlin learned.
The package also includes training support from the Bundeswehr, the provision of almost 60,000 rounds of ammunition and the delivery of a further 15 tanks in the summer.
A Cheetah anti-aircraft gun tank at Munster Training Area.
In July, Germany will deliver 15 such tanks to Ukraine.
(Archive photo) © Björn Trotsky/Imago Images
"I spoke to my Ukrainian colleague Resnikov today, and he expressly confirmed once again that Ukraine would like the fastest possible delivery of Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, including the existing 59,000 rounds of ammunition, from Germany," Lambrecht said after the video link with Resnikov.
This particularly emphasized the performance of the system.
“I expressly welcome this clear decision.
The cheetah is an effective weapon that also has a significant deterrent effect - for example to protect critical infrastructure," said Lambrecht.
"We are now working together to ensure that the first 15 cheetahs will be ready for action from mid-July with fully trained crews."
Scholz defends Ukraine course: "I'm not Kaiser Wilhelm"
+++ 3.15 p.m .:
The Ukrainian Ambassador Andriy Melnyk has again accused Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) of being hesitant to deliver heavy weapons.
"We have the impression that the Chancellor does not want to deliver," Melnyk told the editorial network Germany on Friday.
When asked if Germany was playing for time, Melnyk replied, according to the report: "It looks like it.
One can get the impression of waiting for a ceasefire.
Then the pressure from Germany will be gone and there will no longer be any need for courageous decisions.”
So far, neither Cheetah tanks nor Leopard-1 or Marder have been delivered, the ambassador criticized.
The announced exchange of rings with T-72 tanks for the Ukraine from Slovenia has also not worked out so far.
Melnyk also criticized the fact that Scholz has not traveled to Kyiv since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
"The fact that the head of government of a country that describes itself as a great friend of Ukraine does not want to travel to Kyiv bothers and irritates us," he said.
"This incomprehensible reluctance alone is also a certain signal, and a wrong one at that".
Ukraine negotiations: Olaf Scholz does not want to let Germany slip into war
Scholz made it clear on Monday (May 16) on RTL television that he only wanted to travel to Kyiv if there were specific things to be settled.
He said: "I'm not going to join a group of people doing a quick in and out with a photo op.
But if, then it's always about very concrete things."
Scholz is said to have justified his Ukraine course in a meeting of the coalition committee at the end of April with a comparison to the First World War.
He will not be the chancellor who accidentally sends Germany into war.
"I'm not Kaiser Wilhelm," he said accordingly.
The quote was confirmed to the German Press Agency from coalition circles.
Ukraine negotiations: Ukrainian leadership rejects talks
Update from Friday, May 20, 12:45 p.m .:
The Ukrainian leadership has made its position on a possible resumption of peace negotiations clear.
Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podoliak tweeted: "Until Russia is ready to completely unblock our country, our negotiating platform consists of arms, sanctions and money."
In negotiations that began shortly after the war began and are currently on hold, Vladimir Putin's negotiators in Kyiv called for Crimea to be recognized as Russian territory and for the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk to be recognized as independent states.
Ukraine negotiations: Energy companies want to pay in rubles - EU angry
First report from Friday, May 20, 10:30 a.m.:
Brussels – Despite western sanctions due to the Ukraine war, the Kremlin continues to insist that oil and gas deliveries be paid in rubles.
However, since the European energy companies have to comply with the EU agreements, they are not allowed to comply with the Russian wish – at least in theory.
In practice, the situation appears to be different: the Italian energy supplier Eni, for example, recently announced that it had also opened a ruble account with Gazprombank.
Other companies seem to rely on vague explanations, such as the French energy company Engie.
CEO Catherine MacGregor said this week that they had "agreed on a solution that appears to meet both Gazprom's expectations and our own expectations."
EU Commission spokesman Eric Mamer has already issued a warning that companies must comply with the guidelines.
"We don't consider anything else advisable," said Mamer.
It is unclear what the consequences for violating the sanctions could look like.
"EU member states must implement the sanctions and ensure that they are correctly followed by energy companies," Mamer told Welt newspaper.
However, it seems very unlikely that national governments would prosecute domestic companies in the current situation.
(nak with dpa/AFP)