Ukraine-Russia war: What is Zelensky’s “peace formula” and how did Russia respond?
- writing
- BBC News World
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“I may be running out of time, but the cause of peace is worth it.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy began his speech at the G20 summit with these words on Tuesday, where he presented a plan to end the war with Russia that has been going on since February 24.
“I want this aggressive Russian war to end justly and in accordance with the UN Charter and international law,” Zelenskiy told colleagues from the 20 largest economies gathered in the Indonesian seaside resort of Nusa Dua via video conference. .
Zelensky warned that he will not accept peace “at any price”, which is clearly stated in his “peace formula”.
Moscow immediately rejected this offer.
Sovereignty and independence are a priority
Zelensky’s proposal consists of 10 points, including the “restoration of territorial integrity” of his country and the withdrawal of Russian troops.
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Zelensky made any negotiations with Russia conditional on the return of the occupied territories and the withdrawal of troops from Moscow.
Since the Kremlin launched a “special operation” on February 24 under the pretext of “azification and demilitarization” of its western neighbor, its soldiers have occupied nearly 20% of Ukraine’s territory.
“Russia should once again confirm the territorial integrity of Ukraine within the framework of UN resolutions and legally binding documents. This is not subject to negotiations,” he said.
Zelensky then called on Moscow to order its army to return to its territory.
“Russia should withdraw all its troops and formations from the territory of Ukraine, Ukraine’s control of all our borders with Russia should be restored. This will lead to a real and complete cessation of hostilities.”
However, he said that the possible end of military operations will not be enough and the independence of his country will remain “under threat”. Reason ? Ukraine is not part of any alliance and therefore requires a new international agreement to ensure its security and sovereignty.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has already ruled out any negotiations on the return of the Ukrainian provinces annexed by Moscow in September last year.
An offer Moscow rejected. “He (Zelensky) is making it difficult to reach an agreement by setting unrealistic conditions,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
And these three points have already been rejected by the Kremlin in the past.
“I want to be heard in Kiev and in the West: residents of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia have been our citizens forever,” Russian President Vladimir Putin himself said at the end of September.
“There is nothing to say about Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia,” he warned.
For people and energy
The return of thousands of Ukrainians resettled in Russia is another requirement of Zelensky’s proposal.
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Kyiv demands that Moscow stop using the Zaporizhia NPP as a weapon to blackmail its forces and the rest of the world.
“Thousands of our citizens, civilians and soldiers are in captivity and are subjected to brutal torture.
“We know that 11,000 children were forcibly deported to Russia and were separated from their parents knowing that they had families,” he said, adding that the identity of these children had been determined.
The fifth demand of the plan is related to the punishment of war crimes in places like Bucha.
“Every time we liberate our country, we see one thing: Russia leaves behind torture chambers and mass graves full of murdered people,” Zelensky said, calling on leaders to support the creation of a special tribunal to punish human rights abuses since February. 24.
The sixth demand of the road map presented by the Ukrainian leader is that Moscow stop its efforts to “weaponize the cold” and stop its attacks on power plants.
The seventh proposition is also about energy, but with atomic energy. Mr Zelensky called for the restoration of “radiological safety” and demanded that Russia stop using the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant as a “radioactive bomb”, which it “blackmails the world”.
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Zelensky is demanding that Russia stop using food and energy as weapons in an attempt to divide the country and its allies.
food for the world
Other conditions include the indefinite continuation of a program that would allow Ukraine to resume grain exports and measures to prevent further damage to the country’s forests and other natural areas.
Finally, he asked that everything agreed be on paper.
Olga Prosvirova, an employee of the BBC’s Russian service, said that the presence of Minister Lavrov in the room when Zelensky presented the “peace formula” was considered a good sign.
But subsequent reactions from Russia’s top diplomat and from Moscow made it clear that despite the Ukrainian military advance, Mr. Putin is not ready to change his mind just yet.
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Russia responded to Ukraine’s proposal with new missile attacks on a number of cities and villages.
Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Ukraine does not want to negotiate.
“Ukraine cannot and does not want to negotiate both de facto and de jure. The goals of the Russian Federation will be achieved by continuing the special military operation,” Peskov said.
A few hours later, Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities were hit by Russian missiles.
In recent days, Ukraine’s allies have indicated that they want to see both sides sit down to end the conflict.
