Russia demands that “the whole world” recognize the occupied territories of Ukraine as Russian
“The imperative is the international recognition of the belonging of Crimea, Sevastopol, the Donetsk People's Republic, the Lugansk People's Republic, Chersonia and Zaporozhye to Russia,” said Lavrov.
In addition, according to the minister, Kyiv must give up joining NATO and agree to “non -block status”and all Ukraine's obligations “must be legally recorded, have mechanisms for assurance and have an indefinite nature.”
Maximalist demands of the Kremlin
“On the agenda are the tasks of demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, the abolition of sanctions, court lawsuits and arrest orders, the return of” frozen “in the west of Russian assets” Lavrov continued.
He added that the Kremlin also intends to obtain “reliable security guarantees” against threats that “create hostile activities of NATO, the European Union and some of its Member States” on the western borders of Russia.
“A different result than Moscow's unconditional failure is seen in Brussels as a geopolitical defeat. […] At the same time, preparations are underway to send to Ukraine military contingents of NATO countries, contrary to our warnings about the inadmissibility of such a step. Weapons are delivered to Kiev, “complained the head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Lavrach rhetoric shows that the chances of concluding an agreement on Ukraine in the coming months are close to zero, He believes Janis Kluge, an expert of the German Institute of International Security Problems. “Russia is quite consistent in what it wants in recent months, namely it does not show readiness to compromise. For Russia, demilitarization of Ukraine is the foundation stone of every agreement,” notes Kluge.
The USA agrees with Russia about Crimea
The administration of Donald Trump in the project of a peace plan provided to European allies in Paris on April 17 allowed the legal recognition of Moscow's control over Crimea, and the other busy parts of Ukraine (except for a small area in the Kharkov region) is considered according to the project de facto belonging to Russia. In the EU counter -proposal, there is no question of recognizing any territories taken from Ukraine as Russian.
On April 25, Trump said that “Crimea would remain with Russia and everyone understands it,” including Wołodymyr Zelnski. He also added that Crimea was occupied “without a single shot” over 10 years ago, when Barack Obama was the president of the USA, indicating that Ukraine did not fight for this territory at the time.
