Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy and Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation, MP Bohdan Yaremenko is convinced that the Russian Federation imitates compliance in peace talks with Ukraine to have sanctions lifted, without essentially solving the issue of the occupied Donbas.
"An analysis of the behavior of the Russian Federation in PACE, where Russia is fairly straightforward to push through the recognition of deputies elected in the occupied territories, makes one doubt that Russia plans to somehow ease tension in the diplomatic confrontation with our state," he wrote on Facebook.
Yaremenko noted that the open and concealed, but not so inconspicuous, activity by Russia in Europe and the U.S. reveals the true intentions of Russian diplomacy – "imitating compliance in peace talks with Ukraine to resolve the issue of lifting sanctions."
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"That's without solving the problem of the occupied Donbas in essence," he added.
Therefore, as the deputy emphasized, the best that Ukraine can do is to begin the peace process, and not ease, but increase diplomatic pressure on the Russian Federation.
"It’s good that our predecessors left a wide field of opportunity," he wrote. "If our international partners are striving for the same thing as President Zelensky, peace talks make sense – and Ukraine can be helped now by active diplomacy, without rejecting the possibility of easing Russia sanctions provided that they fulfill a number of prerequisites, to nevertheless guarantee increased pressure and sanctions on Russia if they sever peace negotiations with Ukraine," he added.
Yaremenko noted that "lowering the degree of discussion" in international organizations, as a compromise on the Ukrainian side, would be a very realistic solution.
"It is not difficult for us to recommend that Ukrainian delegations not use the term 'armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine' in documents and draft decisions. It's not difficult at all. Just as it isn't difficult for Russia to return all prisoners to Ukraine, seized warships, and execute the decision of the international court to annul the ban on the Mejlis, and to allow the OSCE permanent monitoring mission to the territory of Crimea. We are ready for compromises," the deputy concluded.
