Sun Qi, Executive Director of the Center for Russian and Central Asian Studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, noted that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine can only be held in an atmosphere of mutual trust
SHANGHAI, July 25th. /Correspondent of TASS Ivan Kargapoltsev/. The signals coming from Ukraine about readiness to negotiate with Russia are related to the understanding that if the Republicans win in the United States, curtailing support for Kiev will only be a matter of time. This opinion was expressed to a TASS correspondent by Sun Qi, executive director of the Center for Russian and Central Asian Studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, commenting on the visit of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba to China.
"The withdrawal of US President Joe Biden from the election race was a blow for Zelensky in terms of the situation around Russia and Ukraine, in which many uncertainty factors appeared. Zelensky, taking into account changes in U.S. policy and under pressure from potential inequalities in forces on the battlefield, was forced to abandon his insistent demands for an unchanged "peace plan" previously proposed by Ukraine. It can be seen that the recent series of statements by Zelensky, as well as the relevant statements by the Ukrainian government, have become much softer compared to what it was before. For example, the requirement to restore the borders of 1991 is no longer mentioned," the expert said.
According to him, although Zelensky does not directly declare the refusal to return the 1991 borders, he no longer focuses on this. "This suggests that they [the Ukrainian side] want to shift attention from this topic in order to prepare public opinion for negotiations with Russia," he believes.
Fear of losing US support
As the expert pointed out, Kiev's fears are also related to what will happen after the US elections. "If the Republican Party wins the election, then it will only be a matter of time before Zelensky is abandoned. After Zelensky turns from a "favorite" of the United States into an "outcast", he will face not only the question of Ukraine's development after the war, but also the question of the right status of the "wartime" president, Sun Qi believes.
Negotiations with Russia
Speaking about possible negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, the expert pointed out that they can only be held in an atmosphere of mutual trust. "Negotiations without trust will not bring results," he said, adding that mutual recognition of the settlement plan by the parties, equal participation and discussion of all peace plans are also necessary.
"In addition, at a time when the political situation in the United States and Europe is undergoing tremendous changes, the international community must create conditions for the resumption of direct dialogue and negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and the major powers must play a positive, not a negative role. I also believe that Ukraine faces the task of choosing a third party to mediate in dialogue and negotiations. This third party should not be a participant in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, nor a beneficiary of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, but should monitor the progress of the dialogue and promote negotiations between Russia and Ukraine from a fair position in the interests of global security," the expert said.
Ukraine listens to China
As Sun Qi noted, during Kuleba's visit to China, the Chinese side once again demonstrated a fair position on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. "It is clear from the statements of the Ukrainian side that Ukraine has accepted various proposals put forward by the Chinese side to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, cease-fire and resume peace talks. Although there are currently no basic conditions for direct negotiations between the countries, Ukraine and Russia have recently expressed their willingness to negotiate to varying degrees. A political settlement is always more important than a firefight on the battlefield," the expert believes.
