Ukraine is planning an international peace conference at the United Nations in the coming weeks. The federal government welcomes the proposal, but has little hope of an agreement. Kremlin spokesman Peskov explains why.
The Russian government has once again made it clear what price it is demanding for a possible peace agreement with Ukraine. “There will be no peace if the agreement does not recognize modern reality,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference, according to the Russian news agency TASS. “The new regions must remain part of Russia,” he said, referring to Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia. “Any proposals that do not take this into account are not a peace plan.”
The four Ukrainian regions have been occupied by Russian troops for some time and were annexed by the Russian government in September. Since then, however, Ukraine has reconquered part of the territory.
With his statement, Peskov reacted to the Ukrainian government’s plans to hold an international peace conference at the United Nations in the coming weeks to end the war. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had previously stated that a peace agreement would only be concluded on Russian terms.
The federal government, among others, can therefore not imagine that the two nations will come to an agreement. “Basically, every proposal to bring the Russian war of aggression to an end is good and right,” said Christofer Burger, spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office. However, it should be noted that “Russia is not showing any signs of abandoning its original war aims.”
Foreign Minister Lavrov once again made it very clear that Russia “continues to work hard towards the destruction of Ukraine’s statehood,” Burger explained. “We have to take note of that. That’s why our support for Ukraine, for its right to self-defense, remains undiminished.” The Ukrainian government also does not believe that the Russian leadership’s alleged offers of talks are meant seriously.
At the same time, Burger pointed out that Germany has long been providing diplomatic support on issues that are important to Ukraine in the event of a peace agreement. It is about, for example, holding those responsible for war crimes accountable.
