Russia reaffirms stance in Ukraine, open to talks with conditions
Moscow once again confirms that it does not intend to back down on the issue of Ukraine. "There can be and will be no territorial concessions in Donbas and Novorossiya. They are part of Russia," announced Valentina Matvienko, Chairwoman of the Federation Council, at a press conference. A few minutes earlier, she claimed that "Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine."
Much of the information provided by Russian media or government officials is propaganda. These reports are part of the Russian Federation's information war.
Scandalous words from the Kremlin
"The new, newly united regions, the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson region are now an integral part of Russia, which is enshrined in our constitution," said Matvienko. "Our constitution forbids any ceding of the territory of the Russian Federation. This is necessary for everyone to hear, and in these four united territories, there can be and will be no territorial concessions," she added.
Shortly before this statement, Matvienko said, "Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine, but will agree to do so if it receives guarantees of ensuring the national security and sovereignty of the Russian Federation."
We are ready to negotiate," she said, "if we definitely have guarantees that this will not be another distraction from achieving our goals, if there are strict guarantees provided by Russia ensuring national security and sovereignty of the Russian Federation, guarantees and readiness to implement them in case of signing peace agreements".
Will the referendum resolve the issue?
The day before, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in an interview with the newspaper "Le Monde" said that he does not rule out holding a referendum on the future fate of Ukrainian territories in order to end the war, but that "it requires the will of the Ukrainian people."
According to the country's president, Ukraine "should not liberate all its territories by "force and weapons," because this option "costs us a lot of time and human lives." Zelenskiy added: "We can return our territories through diplomatic means."
The portal zn.ua published the survey results in mid-July, which showed that slightly less than half of Ukrainians believe it is time to start negotiations with Russia.
Respondents were asked: "Do you think it is time to start official peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia?"
44 percent were in favour, 35 percent were against. 21 percent could not give a definite answer.
The majority of supporters of peace negotiations with Moscow live in the southern part of the country—60 percent. Next is the central part—49 percent. The fewest supporters are residents of eastern and western Ukraine (33 percent and 35 percent, respectively).
In June, Putin announced the conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine and the start of peace negotiations. He demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the parts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions not occupied by the Russian army and Ukraine's refusal to join NATO. This proposal was rejected in Kyiv, considering it a request.
