The West needs to understand Russia’s position in order to start negotiations to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. A columnist wrote about this on February 14 Responsible Statescraft Alexander Hill.
In his opinion, today in the debate about Western foreign policy there is not enough ability to even try to look at the situation “from an alternative point of view.”
Hill stressed that Washington needs to be more realistic in dealing with Moscow. He believes that even an attempt to understand the positions of other countries on certain issues can increase the chances for constructive interaction.
“Sooner or later, negotiations must take place. For them to be constructive, both sides will have to give in and try to understand each other’s point of view,” the journalist concluded.
On the same day, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, head of the Forward Italy party, called for a diplomatic settlement of the Ukrainian conflict. As one of the options for resolving the situation in Ukraine, Berlusconi proposed the “Marshall Plan” of the Western countries to restore the state.
Earlier, on February 13, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would negotiate when the West forced him to do so. According to him, the Russian Federation does not see any serious efforts on the part of the Ukrainian side aimed at starting a peaceful settlement of the conflict. He also added that the sponsors of the Kyiv regime also showed no desire to move on to serious negotiations with Russia.
On February 6, Dmitry Polyansky, Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, said that Western countries are not interested in peace in Ukraine. According to him, the West continues to push back the prospects for peace with the supply of weapons. Polyansky noted that Western countries are trying to present Russia’s actions in Ukraine “in the most unflattering light.”
In turn, on February 2, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Western colleagues refused a peaceful settlement and forced the Kiev regime to withdraw from negotiations at the very moment when there was still an opportunity to end the conflict by political means.
The last face-to-face round of talks between Russia and Ukraine took place in March 2022 in Turkey. However, on October 4, Kyiv officially renounced contacts with Moscow: President Vladimir Zelensky enforced the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on the impossibility of holding negotiations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The special operation to protect Donbass continues. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
