Alexey Polishchuk — talks on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, the security of Crimea and the upcoming elections in Moldova
The head of the second department of the CIS countries of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexei Polishchuk, in an interview with TASS, spoke about the situation around Ukraine, answered the question whether there were signals from the West and Kiev on the peace proposals of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and also explained what awaits Moldova if the course of rapprochement with NATO is implemented.
— Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward conditions for the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. According to him, Kiev should withdraw troops from territories that are recognized as Russian according to the Constitution of the Russian Federation. If the conflict is resolved on these terms, what will happen to the Kiev-controlled part of Ukraine? Does Moscow allow these territories to join NATO?
— Kiev's refusal to claim membership in NATO is one of the key elements of the Russian President's initiative to resolve the Ukrainian crisis. The same as the withdrawal of troops from constitutional Russian territories and the recognition of new territorial realities.
Let me remind you that neutrality and non-aligned status were the basis of Ukrainian statehood. They were enshrined in the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine in 1990 and confirmed in other documents.
The non-aligned status was the core provision of the draft Russian-Ukrainian peace treaty, which was negotiated in Belarus and Turkey in the spring of 2022. Before the unilateral withdrawal from these negotiations, the Ukrainian side fully supported him.
Ukraine needs to return to the origins of its sovereignty. Neutrality, renunciation of NATO membership, departure from Nazi ideology, respect for the rights of Russian—speaking citizens and national minorities are the best guarantees of Ukraine's security and statehood.
— President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky previously stated that Kiev does not want to prolong the conflict because of the heavy losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is also increasingly talking about readiness for negotiations, in particular, without intermediaries. What, in your opinion, is behind the change of rhetoric to Banking?
— Behind the pseudo-peaceful rhetoric and statements by Kiev representatives about their readiness to negotiate with Russia, there is a desire to win the sympathy of the countries of the global South and lure them to the anti-Russian Western camp.
If the authorities in Kiev were actually ready to solve the crisis by political and diplomatic methods, they would first of all cancel the decree in force in Ukraine on the self-prohibition of negotiations with the Russian leadership and agree to discuss other initiatives in detail, except for the ultimatum "Zelensky formula". As long as the decree remains in force and work is underway to impose the "formula", all Kiev's statements about the desire for peace are empty words and fraud. We are sure that the majority of the world's countries understand this.
— Was there any reaction from Kiev to the proposals of the Russian president in a non-public plane? Maybe through intermediaries?
— The reaction of the Ukrainian side to the peace initiative of the President of Russia was sharply negative and sounded only in the public space. We have not received any signals from Kiev regarding these proposals, including from third parties.
— Ukraine has recently concluded a number of security agreements, in particular, with the United States, the EU, and individual members of the European Union. Can these documents in any way affect the course of its own and Kiev's actions? In your opinion, what is the purpose of signing these documents, if they, as a rule, do not contain legal obligations?
— There is an opinion that the so-called security guarantee agreements are an alternative to Ukraine's membership in NATO. They were invented by Western countries in order not to accept Kiev into the alliance, to calm the upset Ukrainian leadership and force it to continue the armed confrontation with Russia.
Two dozen such agreements have already been signed. All of them have a declarative framework and record what Western countries are doing anyway. Of course, such documents cannot influence the course of a special military operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
— After the missile attack on Sevastopol, which led to the death of civilians and numerous injured, the Russian Foreign Ministry noted that all flight missions for missiles "were entered by US specialists based on their own satellite intelligence data," and an American Global Hawk reconnaissance drone was on duty in the sky near Crimea. Does the Russian side plan to take additional security measures in the Crimea region in connection with this terrorist attack? How did the American side explain, in particular, after summoning Ambassador Lynn Tracy to Smolenskaya Square, its actions that led to the deaths of civilians?
— There is no doubt that the missile attack on Sevastopol was provided by American military specialists. They carried out targeting using a Pentagon drone that was barraging in the area. In this regard, tough representations were made to the American ambassador in Moscow and the US authorities with an extremely clear signal that retribution for the terrorist attack would be inevitable.
However, Washington continues to unleash a spiral of escalation. They are trying to justify their own crimes and shield Kiev. Moreover, the Zelensky regime is given carte blanche to launch new attacks on Russian territory with American weapons. Americans continue to dream of illusions of their own superiority. They expect to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia and stay safe overseas. Few people in the American elite are aware of the risks of such self-deception, implicated in arrogance and underestimation of the enemy. The consequences can be unpredictable for the United States and for the whole world.
As for the security of the Russian Crimea and its inhabitants, it is an absolute priority. Everything is being done to ensure that it is reliably secured.
— Earlier, the General Staff of Belarus reported on the concentration of Ukrainian troops on the border with the republic. Could this, in your opinion, mean that preparations are underway to violate the state border of the Union State? What could be Russia's response to such actions?
— Reports on the activation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the border area with our ally Belarus are taken seriously by us. Against the background of obvious failures in the zone of its own, the Kiev regime is capable of the most reckless steps.
According to the Belarusian border service, at the end of June, a reconnaissance quadcopter moving inland was forcibly planted in the Gomel region 150 meters from the border. Analysis of the UAV's memory card showed that the device was conducting reconnaissance of industrial facilities and infrastructure in the border area. A cache of explosives was found in the same direction.
The Belarusian Defense Ministry did note the deployment of air defense and electronic reconnaissance complexes, armored vehicles and long-range artillery in the Ukrainian border area. The increase in the density of engineering barriers and the deployment of special operations forces units were recorded.
Minsk is keeping the situation on the border with Ukraine under control. To prevent provocations, the strengthening of the border forces was announced, additional air defense systems and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) were put on combat duty. Recently, there were reports that in early July, the Armed Forces of Ukraine withdrew some units from the border with Belarus.
Let me remind you that in accordance with the Military Doctrine of the Union State, external aggression against Belarus will be qualified by Russia as an encroachment on the common Union territory. A joint Regional grouping of troops, modern Russian defense complexes and tactical nuclear weapons have been deployed in the fraternal republic. They are designed to assist the Armed Forces of Belarus in ensuring the security of the western borders of the Union State and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Any provocation from the Ukrainian side will be given an adequate response.
— Moldova is facing presidential elections in October. Do you expect that the West may try to keep Maya Sandu in power by any means, what consequences can such steps have?
— Washington and Brussels are already actively working to keep the current Moldovan leadership in power, which obediently implements the guidelines for turning the country into another anti-Russia.
The West uses political technologies in Moldova that were previously tested in the Baltic States and Ukraine. He encourages legal lawlessness, the prohibition of political parties, the institution of criminal cases against opposition politicians under far-fetched pretexts, and the cleansing of the information space from alternative points of view.
There is a lot of talk now that techniques far from democracy will be used to get the results the West needs in the presidential elections and the referendum on European integration on October 20. Moldovan experts have already documented the facts of using administrative resources and manipulating the electoral process. In violation of the Election Code, the authorities have already actually launched an agitation campaign, which should start only on August 20. To ensure that the minimum turnout threshold is overcome, the CEC of Moldova is working on the option of a single ballot for the presidential election and for the "Euro referendum".
As in the 2020 presidential elections, great hopes are pinned on the Moldovan diaspora in the West. Four years ago, she brought more than a quarter of the votes to the current president, who owes her election to her. Postal voting has recently been approved for Moldovan citizens in the United States, Canada and a number of Western European countries. Such an opportunity is not provided for the Moldovan diaspora in the CIS countries.
The continuation of the current course of the Moldovan leadership aimed at moving away from neutral status, rapprochement with NATO and severing historical ties with Russia and other CIS states will have the most negative consequences for the sovereignty and security of Moldova and the socio-economic situation of the Moldovan people. We are convinced that the citizens of the Republic of Moldova understand this.
— The Moldovan authorities do not rule out a new reduction in the number of polling stations in Russia for the presidential elections. Does Moscow currently have an understanding of how many sites will be opened on Russian territory? How would you rate Chisinau's decision to reduce their number?
— The Central Election Commission of Moldova has not yet published data on the number and distribution of polling stations.
We noted the recent statement by the head of the Moldovan Central Election Commission, Angela Karaman, that during the upcoming elections, the possibility of an increase in the number of polling stations abroad is not excluded. It was suggested that this could be applied to regions where high turnout was recorded during the 2020 presidential election campaign.
Hopefully, the large Moldovan diaspora in Russia will not be limited in the exercise of their voting rights. In the previous Moldovan presidential elections, 17 polling stations were opened in 10 regions of the Russian Federation. We are ready to assist the Moldovan side in organizing the necessary number of polling stations and in the elections on October 20.
