Sergei Lavrov: "There is some hope"
It has been 21 days since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the midst of the conflict, diplomacy is trying to be the means to put an end to the attacks. This is evidenced by the regular talks that are taking place between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, as well as meetings between international leaders.
It is in the latest meeting, via video call, that there has been some glimmer of hope for a ceasefire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Moscow "maintains a more realistic tone" in its talks. "According to what I have been told, the positions in the negotiations sound more realistic. However, time is still needed for the decisions to be in Ukraine's interest," he said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in the same vein, saying in an interview with RBC that "there is some hope. I trust the opinion of our negotiators. They say that the talks are not going smoothly, but there is still some hope of reaching an agreement," he said.
According to Lavrov's statements, one of the main points under discussion is "neutral status as well as security guarantees". Neutrality is one of Moscow's main demands in the negotiation process, along with recognition of the independence "of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics". They also insist on their goal of "denazifying" the country.
One of Moscow's main objectives is for Ukraine to adopt a model of neutrality like Austria or Sweden. This distinction would allow Ukraine to join the European Union but not the Atlantic Treaty. If Ukraine were to accept this neutralisation, it would allow it to have its own armed forces, but without them having bases abroad, which would respond to the concept of demilitarisation with which Putin tried to argue for his invasion.
However, Ukrainian delegation negotiators reject this model after making it clear that, in order to accept neutrality, they want an agreement to be approved that includes the guarantor states that will act and respond in the event of further attacks on Ukraine.
In this vein, Zelensky's acceptance after acknowledging "that it has become clear that Ukraine is not a member of NATO. We understand that' can be interpreted as an effective first step along negotiating lines. In a message to the leaders of the Baltic and Nordic countries convened in London, Zelensky said that they now accepted that the doors to NATO membership "were closed", which is a step in favour of negotiation.
Zelensky's adviser, Mikhailo Podoliak, concluded yesterday's round of talks by saying that "it is a very difficult negotiation process" where "there is room" to try to reach common ground between the two sides. He also assured that "work will continue in sub-groups" with the aim of tackling more concrete issues.
Turkey has also joined this frenetic pace of international meetings. The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, has travelled to Moscow for a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. The two ministers discussed issues related to common diplomacy, as well as the current situation in Ukraine following the invasion by Russian troops.
In addition to the European conflict, the two ministers will discuss the timetable and content of the next meeting to be held on Syria, which is now in its eleventh year of civil war, a conflict that has left more than 500,000 dead, 2,748 of whom are children.
Together with Syria, the ministers will address the Libyan conflict, focusing on "finding ways to establish a comprehensive political dialogue and return socio-economic and public life in Libya to a peaceful and stable course". Russia has also informed that the two representatives will discuss "building bilateral economic and trade cooperation", at a time when both countries have been affected by the economic sanctions approved by the United States.
They will also discuss the joint construction of the Akkuyuy nuclear power plant and the new Turkish Stram gas pipeline, indicating the close economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
