Rus-Ukraine 3rd Peace Talks Also Stalled... Partial Agreement Only on Civilian Evacuation

Russia, Ukraine Neutralization and Other 3 Major Demands Reemphasized
4th Round of Talks to Continue... Negotiations Face Difficulties

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Russia and Ukraine held their third peace talks, but it ended without significant progress. Both sides reached partial agreement on civilian evacuation, but negotiations have been difficult as Russia persistently demands Ukraine's neutralization and other existing demands related to a ceasefire.

According to CNN on the 7th (local time), the Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in the Belavezh Forest in Brest Province, southwestern Belarus, and held talks for about three hours, but no significant progress was reported. Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the Ukrainian presidential office, said at a press conference immediately after the talks, "We did not achieve results that greatly improve the situation," but added, "There was a small but positive progress in opening humanitarian corridors."

The Russian side also stated that they did not obtain satisfactory results from this meeting. Vladimir Medinsky, presidential aide and head of the Russian delegation, said, "We prepared many documents and expected to at least sign a protocol, but it did not happen on the spot," and evaluated, "Discussions on political and military aspects continued, but the dialogue was difficult."

However, both sides reportedly agreed on opening humanitarian corridors for civilian evacuation during the talks. AFP quoted a Russian Defense Ministry official saying, "From 10 a.m. on the 8th, Russia is ready to provide humanitarian corridors." The evacuation areas included Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and the second-largest city Kharkiv, Mariupol, and Sumy.

The reason for the deadlock in bilateral negotiations is presumed to be Russia's insistence on its existing demands without any concession. On the same day, Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, emphasized again in an interview with major foreign media, "If Ukraine implements the issues Russia has demanded, such as constitutional amendments to adopt neutral status, recognition of Russia's annexation of Crimea, and recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, the military operation will be halted."

However, it is difficult for the Ukrainian government to accept these demands. According to the BBC, the current Ukrainian government under Volodymyr Zelensky has included NATO membership as a major national goal in the constitution since coming to power in 2019. Russia insists that Ukraine must amend this constitution and declare neutralization so that Ukraine does not join NATO or any Western military alliances.

Furthermore, since the Zelensky government has previously declared in negotiations with Russia that it will never cede its territory, it is expected that the Ukrainian government will find it difficult to accept recognition of the annexation of Crimea and the independence of pro-Russian rebel regions. Accordingly, there are concerns that the deadlock will continue even if both sides continue negotiations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.