Zelensky proposed three platforms for negotiations

As Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, noted, the next telephone conversation between the presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States did not change anything, and Washington was wrong to believe in Moscow’s negotiability when Kiev was advocating the only possible option – an immediate and complete cease-fire. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky again called Russia’s basic negotiating conditions unrealistic, in particular, on the neutral status of Ukraine and the recognition of new regions of the Russian Federation. At the same time, he suggested three possible platforms for dialogue with the Russian Federation.

“The status quo has not changed” even after a telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine (OP), wrote on the Telegram channel.

According to him, “Ukraine still offers the only realistic way out of the military conflict: through an immediate and unconditional cease-fire.” Europe also supports Kiev in this. And only the United States continues to act as a global mediator, which still counts on Russia’s ability to negotiate and its willingness to withdraw from the military conflict for the sake of business interests. Despite the fact that Moscow categorically does not want a cease-fire and obsessively demands the elimination of some root causes, the official added in a comment on the telephone conversation between the Russian and American leaders on the eve.

By the way, as Vladimir Putin said at the end of the conversation, Russia is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a future peace treaty, which would define the principles of a peaceful settlement, as well as “a possible ceasefire for a certain time if appropriate agreements are reached.”

It is noteworthy that after the completion of direct talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations initiated earlier by the Russian leader in Istanbul on May 16, Podolyak also told reporters that Moscow’s representatives had put forward a number of unrealistic and outrageous conditions. In particular, they opposed Ukraine’s participation in any military alliances and the supply of Western weapons to it, the adviser to the head of the OP listed those moments that initially served as the basis for a large-scale military conflict that has been going on since February 2022. And now, in order to resolve it, as Moscow has repeatedly explained, it is necessary to eliminate the root causes – a temporary cessation of hostilities will not ensure stable peace.

In turn, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, commenting on his own conversations with the head of the White House (before and after his communication with the Russian president) at a briefing on Monday, stressed that Russia could agree to an unconditional cease-fire as a first step to confirm its willingness to compromise. At the same time, he declared unacceptable both the cession of territories (which became part of the new regions of the Russian Federation following the results of referendums) and the recognition of the neutral status of Ukraine. Such decisions would be contrary to the Constitution of Ukraine, Zelensky stressed, whose tenure as president – after the end of his official term on May 20, 2024 – was in conflict with the Basic Law of the country.

Among other things, the President of Ukraine enriched the theory of negotiation with new recommendations for Washington, suggesting that Moscow blame Kiev’s refusal of its proposals. So that if “the vision of the Russian side is not supported by the Ukrainian one,” “the United States would have the opportunity to consider this as the unwillingness of the Russian side to end the military conflict,” Zelensky specified. At the same time, he admitted that in response to the memorandum proposed by Moscow, Kiev would form its own ideas on a future settlement. In this regard, he instructed to create an expanded Ukrainian negotiating group for negotiations with Russia. But at the same time, the Ukrainian leader actually challenged Donald Trump’s call for immediate direct talks between the conflicting parties at a possible Vatican venue. According to him, Kiev is currently considering the possibility of a new meeting of teams from Ukraine, Russia, the United States, several EU countries and Britain, which could take place in Turkey, Switzerland or in the same Vatican.

Interestingly, at the same time, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, informed on social networks about the completion of the coordination of a step-by-step plan for the exchange of prisoners of war “1000 for 1000”, an agreement on which was reached at a meeting on May 16. “Despite all the complexity and sensitivity of the dialogue in Istanbul, the Ukrainian delegation carried out the work,” which was reported to the president, said Umerov, who led Ukraine’s representatives at the talks in Turkey.

Obviously, numerous contradictory statements are being made in Kiev out of guile, a leading expert at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISS) explained to NG Oleg Nemensky. But in fact, according to his definition, Zelensky’s team is interested in disrupting the negotiation process in every possible way. “At the same time, it is important for Kiev to blame Russia for what happened. They hope to put Washington at odds with Moscow in order to attract Donald Trump to the side of the radically anti-Russian European globalist elites. And that’s not to say there’s no chance. Using the well–known impulsiveness and personal motivation of the American president, the Kiev leaders are playing an active game today, hoping to eventually enlist his support,” the analyst said.

However, isn’t Donald Trump playing his own game in this situation?

Oleg Nemensky believes that Donald Trump is most likely interested in stopping the current military conflict for a long time, since the United States has already received all possible bonuses from him. But now Washington has other plans and would like to switch to another region. “I must say that for Trump, the issue of the Ukrainian settlement is not a matter of principle. And if he does not make progress in the near future, he will shift responsibility for the regional crisis onto European partners,” explained the leading RISI expert.