The Brussels-headquartered International Crisis Group (ICG) NGO says the Russian Federation views the war in Ukraine as "one component of a broader conflict with the West," therefore it is necessary to make Russia "feel far safer," in particular, by easing the sanctions against it over the armed conflict in Donbas and the annexation of Crimea.
"Although any peace settlement will need to address Ukraine-specific matters, it also needs to address broader European-Russian security concerns in order to be sustainable," ICG members said in a report, titled "Peace in Ukraine I: A European War," released on April 28, according to Deutsche Welle.
"The EU, NATO and their member states, including the U.S., should begin exploring new approaches to European security with Moscow, including new arms control measures, even as they support Kyiv's efforts to end the fighting in Ukraine," it said.
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A truly sustainable peace should address European security as a whole to make "Russia, its neighbours and the entire continent safer."
According to the ICG, the EU should also consider adopting a "more flexible approach to its sanctions policy, offering incremental relief in exchange for incremental progress by Russia instead of today's all-or-nothing posture."
The Group says European states should engage Russia in discussions of European security, including regional and sub-regional arms limitations. "They should also consider adjusting the current sanctions regime to allow for the lifting of some penalties if Russia contributes to real progress toward peace," the report said.
The authors of the report stress that arming Ukraine does not contribute to the settlement of the war in Donbas, Deutsche Welle said.
The ICG is a think tank headquartered in Brussels. About 120 ICG employees work in many countries, in particular, in Kyiv and Moscow. The report on the war in Donbas was prepared, inter alia, in consultation with officials from Ukraine, Russia, the EU, and NATO, the ICG said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Ukrainian government has been insisting that Russia sanctions imposed by Western powers on Russia over the Kremlin's aggression against Ukraine remain in place.
Last week, Ukraine blocked at the United Nations platform another resolution which would lead to the lifting of Russia sanctions.
"Russia drafted another UNGA resolution aimed less at defeating COVID-19, but more at defeating sanctions. We couldn't support it and broke the silence procedure. Ukraine has cosponsored already two UNGA resolutions to fight COVID-19. Let's keep focused on the real response," Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba reported, commenting on the move.
