Russia is not interested in peace, reacts Republican senator Lindsey Graham, after Medvedev's threats
Senator Lindsey Graham, photo: backgrid / backgrid USA / Profimedia
The claim of former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev that Russia is looking for only a “rapid victory” and the “complete destruction” of the Ukrainian government was qualified by US Senator Lindsey Graham as a “rare moment of honesty”, according to The Kyiv Independent.
“I appreciate that you have clearly shown to the world that Putin and Russia are not far interested in peace,” said Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator who supports a draft law on imposing new major sanctions against Russia, reports Agerpres.
Graham thus reacted to Dmitri Medvedev's post, in which the vice -president of the Russian Security Council acknowledged that “the Istanbul negotiations are not meant to reach a compromise based on someone's unrealistic conditions.”
Russia and Ukraine held the second round of peace discussions on Monday, during which Russia again rejected a long -term fire and presented to Kiev a memorandum with a list of maximalist requirements, including the official recognition of four Ukrainian regions by Russia in September 2022 Zaporojie), which Moscow does not occupy in full and where Kiev asks to withdraw his troops, the prohibition for Ukraine to ever adhere to NATO, limits on the army and other conditions.
Dmitri Medvedev: “Our army advances actively and will continue to advance. All those who need to be exterminated will disappear”
The real goal of Moscow in the discussions is a “rapid victory and complete destruction” of the Ukrainian government, Medvedev said in his post for Monday night. He has cataloged the Ukrainian authorities as a “neo-Nazi regime”, referring to Russia's false speeches about the government led by the Nazis in Kiev, positions that were used as a pretext for Russian aggression, notes the cited publication.
“This is the meaning of the Russian memorandum published yesterday (June 2),” said Medvedev, once considered a liberal reformer, who became one of the vocal pro-war voices from the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
Live War in Ukraine, day 1196: Russia's purpose in negotiations is a rapid and complete victory, said Medvedev / a high -ranking Ukrainian delegation to discuss military support and sanctions against Moscow
Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of intentionally delaying negotiations to allow its forces to conquer more territory during this time.
“Our army advances actively and will continue to advance. Everything that should explode will explode, and everyone who should be exterminated will disappear,” Medvedev said on his post on Telegram, which occurs after Ukraine has attacked four aerodromes inside Russia and destroyed dozens of strategic bombers.
Developments on the front, the situation in figures: How much the Russians advanced in Ukraine in recent months
Like the first round of discussions on May 16, Monday negotiations ended without any tangible progress to a long-term armistice or a peace agreement. In contrast, the two parties agreed on a new exchange of prisoners, which could involve up to 1,200 prisoners on each side.
Moscow also proposed a three -day armistice to collect the bodies of the soldiers fallen.
Volodimir Zelenski had previously appealed to US President Donald Trump adopting tougher sanctions against Russia if discussions in Istanbul did not make progress. A Bipartisan law proposed by Senator Lindsey Graham, who said he would “start advance” this week, would impose 500% rates to buy oil, gases, uranium and other products in Russia.
