“Western countries can speed up the arrival of peace by cutting off arms supplies to kyiv”

It is almost a year since the war between Russia and Ukraine in Eastern Europe and there is, for now, not the slightest hope that the conflict will come to an end in the short term. There is not a hint that the diplomatic route can silence the thunder of a conflagration that worries the entire world.

LOOK: Before and after: the destructive effects of the war in Ukraine | PHOTOS

The Russian ambassador in our country, Igor Romanchenko, agreed to answer a written questionnaire on the performance of his nation in this war, relations with the rest of the world and the possibilities that the dialogue will allow peace to break through.

—One year after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, would you say that Russia is achieving the objectives that Vladimir Putin set for himself at the beginning of what he called a special military operation?

First of all, I would like to remind you that the current crisis in Ukraine arose in 2014, when, with the active support of the United States and the EU, a coup was carried out in Kiev, as a result of which radical nationalists came to power. , and this country became a springboard for the weakening of Russia. Crimea and Donbas opposed the new regime. Crimea gained its independence, and the Kiev regime unleashed a war against Donbas that claimed the lives of 14,000 people, carried out the de facto forced Ukrainization of the Russian-speaking population, the economic and energy blockade, all this with the support of neo-Nazi formations.

During the special operation, the liberated Russian-speaking population of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics, and the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, expressed their desire by referendum that these territories become part of Russia, and thus they were incorporated into our country. We actively contribute to the establishment of a peaceful life there. In addition, we remove the military potential not only of Ukraine, but also of the NATO countries that are openly participating in the conflict and have declared the need to “inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield”. From these points of view, Russia successfully fulfills the objectives of the special military operation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address at the Gostiny Dvor conference center in central Moscow on February 21, 2023. (Photo by Ramil SITDIKOV / SPUTNIK / AFP) (RAMIL SITDIKOV/)

—With so many military casualties on both sides and civilians in Ukraine, and so much suffering for the relatives of the victims in both countries, was there no other way or other solution than the military operation ordered by Putin on February 24, 2022?

With the active mediation of Russia, the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements was signed on February 12, 2015, approved by Resolution 2202 of the UN Security Council. No alternative legal basis was made for peace settlement inside Ukraine. But, as you know, these were never fulfilled. Now both Volodymyr Zelensky, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande have admitted the Minsk accords were necessary to buy Kiev time to strengthen Ukraine’s armed forces. Meanwhile, the suffering of the Russian-speaking population in Donbas continued.

In addition, as is known, at the end of 2021 Russia developed and sent proposals to Western partners on the provision of legal security guarantees, including the non-expansion of NATO to the east, the return of its military infrastructure to the 1997 configuration , when the Founding Act between Russia and NATO was signed. We tried to resolve our problems with the bloc through diplomacy, but our proposals were roundly rejected.

—Except for Belarus, Serbia and some other former Soviet republics, the bulk of countries in Europe and the West, in general, have condemned Russia’s actions. How much does this affect Russia? Will it be possible to rebuild that relationship with Europe at some point or is this already a point of no return?

Russia has been hit with a record number of sanctions designed to destroy the Russian economy. However, the Russian economy and system of government have shown their strength: economic growth in 2022 decreased by 2.1% (instead of the 20-25% expected).

However, there is another unfortunate side to this problem on a global scale: our partners around the world are forced to freeze contacts under the threat of secondary US sanctions.

Developing countries – in Asia, Africa and Latin America – have been hit by the food and energy crisis, and the United States has benefited from this, as in the days of World War I and World War II, under the guise of restrictions and sanctions winning the gas and oil markets.

However, the United States and European countries are not the whole world. We still have many friends and partners, including new power centers like China, India, South Africa, Turkey and Brazil. In general, they took a neutral position on the special military operation, while a number of states supported Russia. All of them continue mutually beneficial cooperation with us.

The main conclusion for Russian-European relations would be that the EU is absolutely dependent on making important decisions. However, if Brussels finally thinks about its own destiny and a sovereign role in the multipolar world, we will be willing to cooperate in those areas where it is really required and responds to the interests of our country.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a debate on the results of the war. (Photo by FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP) (FREDERICK FLORIN /)

—What has to happen for the Kremlin to sit down to negotiate a peace that much of the world yearns for? Is one of the requirements that Volodimir Zelensky leaves power?

I would like to remind you that Russia has reiterated on all platforms and at different levels its readiness for talks on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine without preconditions, but it was Ukraine that, by order from abroad, abandoned the negotiations that began in March 2022. , when it was just possible to reach a diplomatic decision. Since then, no one has tried to convince the Kiev regime of its importance for the fate of not only Ukraine and Russia, but the whole world, even when Zelensky signed a decree on the “impossibility” of holding negotiations with the Russian president.

However, we are always ready to achieve our goals through political and diplomatic means and we remain ready to consider any serious proposal from the West that takes into account the real state of affairs on the ground, as long as it is put on the table. . As far as the Ukrainian presidency is concerned, it is up to the Ukrainian people to choose their leaders. We do not call for a change of power in kyiv, unlike those who do so in relation to Moscow.

—Some military experts and analysts point out that the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the east, supported by the United States and other NATO powers, is a strategy to precisely force Russia into dialogue. What comment deserves such an assertion?

As I mentioned earlier, Russia is ready for dialogue, it is Ukraine that avoids it. Talking about the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the support of NATO countries is largely a media act with the purpose of exerting psychological pressure. Counterattack attempts only lead to greater losses among the Ukrainians.

Ukrainian military fire a CAESAR self-propelled howitzer towards Russian positions in eastern Ukraine on December 28, 2022. (SAMEER AL-DOUMY / AFP).

—Ukraine is asking for more weapons, drones and ammunition from the West, and several European countries are urging that they be sent soon. Does Russia view this with fear that it will prevent it from achieving its military objectives?

Fear isn’t exactly the right word. Russia is concerned about what is happening as it is well aware that these weapons will again be used against civilians in Donbas.

At the same time, the Western countries that supply the Kiev regime with weapons become a de facto party to the conflict and push it closer to the dangerous line of a direct military clash with Russia. Such a situation favors the US military-industrial complex, which is obvious not only to experts.

In addition, the uncontrolled distribution of arms shipped to Ukraine leads to their illegal circulation among non-state actors in different regions of the world.

—Both Zelensky and other European leaders maintain that Ukraine will not be the last target of the Russian offensive but that it will continue towards other states of the former Soviet bloc. What do you answer?

Our Ukrainian colleagues even attribute to Russia “the desire to attack Germany and exterminate all Germans, as well as unleash a nuclear war.” Such accusations are completely unfounded, we consider them as another attempt to demonize Russia in the framework of the hybrid war unleashed against us.

—How much longer will this war last? Are you afraid that it will expand and acquire a continental or global scope?

Western countries can speed up the establishment of peace by cutting off arms supplies to Kiev and persuading it to start negotiations based on realistic conditions, and not on short-lived “10-point plans” or by calling a peace summit without our participation.

At the same time, it is obvious that the conflict has already acquired a global projection. The delivery of weapons (which had started long before the start of the Russian military operation), satellite and intelligence data to the Kiev regime, participation in the planning and implementation of military operations, training of fighters on the territory of Western countries for operations offensives, entry into hostilities under the guise of private military companies and military instructors – all this has already made the NATO states parties to the conflict. The consequences of these actions, as well as illegal sanctions against Russia that violated the principles of free trade and led to the food and energy crises, were felt around the world.

Fortunately, many countries understand that there is no alternative to building a democratic, multipolar and just world on our planet, without blackmail, domination, intimidation by undesirable governments and neocolonialism.

Source: Elcomercio