- Joined
- Apr 27, 2014
- Messages
- 30,017
Thanks.Some progress maybe... you should probably watch the interview yourself though and listen to Zelensky of you want a true sense of where these negotiations are up to. He does not give off a great impression of 'progress' in these talks. Your man Ivan leaves a few relevant points out of his thread, all his credentials getting in the way maybe.
The demilitarization is hardly "contentious", it will quite simply never be up for discussion. To quote Zelensky - "That is incomprehensible to me, we would not sit at the table if that is what is being discussed".
Any non-NATO or neutral promise would be a constitutional change, he states this would take at least a year. Multiple referendum's required, they could offer Russia guarantee's, all Russian troops would have to leave Ukraine before this process could begin and guarantees signed by 3rd party countries.
Non-Nuclear guarantee would need to be a far more serious agreement than the Budapest Memorandum.
He rules out taking back pre-Feb 24th occupied terriories with military means but he's not conceding them, alludes to continued diplomatic efforts. He also however issues a subtle warning that this is his opinion on the matter and that future elected leaders may not hold that view.
Basically nothing would happen unless/until Russian forces are back behind pre 24/2 lines and he avoids the question about what if the referendums say no. A line of dialog is always good but unless something dramatic changes on the ground there's no point paying much attention to these negotiations.