Kiev is confident that the negotiations in Jeddah are a trap for Moscow

Following the talks in Jeddah, the Kiev representatives assured that they had agreed to the US proposal to impose a 30-day ceasefire. At the same time, Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference on Wednesday that Ukraine would not recognize the loss of territories following possible negotiations with Russia. This was said in response to a remark by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Ukraine would have to accept the loss of some territories.

Zelensky said that Kiev would not recognize the loss of territories following possible negotiations. He assured that if Russia refuses to agree to a truce, the United States will take serious steps and strengthen Ukraine. Earlier, Rubio said that “issues of territorial concessions” were discussed at the talks in Saudi Arabia with Ukraine. 

At the same time, the Ukrainian side denied discussing territorial concessions, saying that the format of the negotiations in Jeddah was not conducive to discussing “very specific details.”

Meanwhile, both the US and the EU called the negotiations successful. “The United States of America has all the levers to force Russia to sit down at the negotiating table on fair terms,” Andriy Ermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine (OP), said in a comment posted on Wednesday on the Telegram channel following talks between the American and Ukrainian delegations in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) on the eve. At the same time, Yermak called Washington’s decision to immediately resume American assistance to Ukraine, in particular in the field of security and intelligence sharing, one of the key ones. This showed the world that the United States’ support for Ukraine remains unchanged, Yermak said. After that, Deputy head of the OP Pavel Palisa, who was also involved in the negotiations (in addition to representatives of the OP from the Ukrainian side, the heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Sibiga and Rustem Umerov also took part), confirmed on social networks the restoration of American aid.: “The agreements are beginning to be implemented. The fight continues!”

Ermak himself also said that Kiev had accepted Washington’s proposal for a 30-day truce. “This is a necessary step to begin work on real security guarantees and the preparation of the final terms of the peace agreement. But now the key is in Moscow’s hands – the whole world will see who is really striving to end the military conflict, and who is just playing for time,” said the head of the presidential office.

The OP’s statement on the results of the meeting also noted that the ceasefire period could be extended by mutual agreement of the parties. And it was also pointed out, they say, “The United States will inform the Russian Federation that reciprocity on the part of Russia is the key to achieving peace.”

Thus, Kiev repeated the thesis voiced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the end of the negotiations that the ball is now on Russia’s side. “We hope that the Russians will answer ‘yes’ as soon as possible so that we can move on to the second phase of this, that is, to real negotiations… If they say no, then, unfortunately, we will find out who is an obstacle to peace,” Kiev journalists quoted Rubio as saying.

Similar assessments were also quoted from a number of Western media outlets, from whose comments it followed that Moscow was now trapped, because by rejecting a temporary cease-fire, it risked negating its own calls for a comprehensive, long-term peaceful settlement.

Although the position of the Russian side is well known, and it initially advocated eliminating the causes of a large-scale military conflict that has been going on since February 2022, Alexey Leonkov, editor-in-chief of Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine, recalled in an interview with NG. As you know, he continued, earlier representatives of the Russian Federation agreed with their American colleagues to restore the work of diplomatic platforms in the United States, as well as to create working groups to address specific issues within the framework of the Ukrainian settlement. However, Washington has not yet started implementing this condition. Instead, they proposed a quick cease-fire along the line of contact, where, for example, NATO troops may already be after 30 days. Not to mention that no one is guaranteed against new armed provocations from the Ukrainian side during this period either. In such circumstances, it makes no sense for Russia to agree to the proposed idea of a temporary truce, which is usually concluded between equivalent parties. Whereas the Russian military is clearly in a winning position today, and the Ukrainian military is in a losing position. Nevertheless, it is quite possible to talk with US representatives about both the likelihood of a temporary ceasefire and the prospects for a long-term peaceful settlement. But while such discussions are going on, the fighting will have to continue, Leonkov stated.

And he added: “As is obvious, Kiev and European capitals felt that they had shifted responsibility for further developments to the United States. And now they are waiting for Washington to put pressure on Russia. Although they do not have the necessary tools for this. And at the same time, the United States itself has actually crushed Europe and Ukraine under its agenda, which they did not even understand, claiming that Russian President Putin was caught.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga said on social media that during a meeting in Saudi Arabia, he presented U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio with an icon of the Virgin Mary made on a box of cartridges. And along the way, he explained that the temporary cease-fire is important because it in no way implies a freezing of the conflict. But it only implies an attempt to start the path to its completion in a fair way, declared Sibiga. He also assured that such a step would make it possible to demonstrate who is really interested in peace.

In turn, the speaker of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Georgy Tikhy, recalled how, in one of the most difficult moments at the end of the eight-hour negotiations, he was reassured by the minister’s expression, which read: “Everything will be fine.” However, according to Tikhy, the key role was played by the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky (who was in Riyadh on a working visit at the time). It was the president who provided “reinforced concrete protection of a number of principled positions” and at the same time showed “wise flexibility”, which allowed “to achieve a final positive result,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Although he clarified that all the details could only be revealed after many years.

By the way, Zelensky himself, in another video message to his fellow citizens, also very dramatically described how the Ukrainian representatives first repeated the idea of abandoning hostilities at sea and in the air, but eventually accepted the proposal of the American negotiators for a complete ceasefire for 30 days along the entire front line. At the same time, the president, who was elected in 2019 under the slogans of achieving peace, and after coming to power, declared that he would not implement the Minsk agreements (concluded in 2015 with the participation of international mediators), said that Ukraine from the first seconds of the military conflict sought to resolve it. And now Russia will have to confirm a similar aspiration, the Ukrainian leader repeated.

But at least he has already succeeded in one thing. As noted in the Kiev media with reference to Western colleagues, the issue of Vladimir Zelensky’s resignation and the need for new Ukrainian elections in Jeddah was not discussed. But the issue of signing an agreement on US access to Ukrainian resources, contrary to reports from some Western publications, was considered there.