‘Talking about Zelensky’s formula is pointless’: Russia commented on the prospects of peace talks with Ukraine

The Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Sergey Shoigu, made several statements to journalists regarding peace negotiations concerning Ukraine.

His remarks were reported by Russian media.

Here are the key points from the former Minister of Defense:

• “Discussing the ‘Zelensky Formula’ in negotiations is pointless.”
• “Talking about formats like the Geneva Conference (which did not include Russia) is meaningless. Negotiations without the main negotiator make no sense.”
• “Two months have passed since Putin outlined the conditions for resolving the situation in Ukraine, but there has been no response from Kyiv.” (It should be noted that the Kremlin demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from four partially occupied regions by Russia, the lifting of anti-Russian sanctions and guarantees that Ukraine would not join NATO. These conditions were rejected by both Ukraine and the West.)
• “If the West thinks it can drag Russia into negotiations on Ukraine hoping the Russian army loses its initiative, it is deeply mistaken.”

Earlier, the State Duma allowed for the possibility that Russia might participate in a peace summit on Ukraine, but only if the “agenda of the event is clearly stated.” This was stated by the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Alexei Chepa.

“Russia will not participate without a concrete agenda and consideration of the demands previously stated by President Vladimir Putin. At the moment, preparations for the second summit, where Russia’s participation is expected, are of a declarative nature, demonstrating the lack of real readiness on the Ukrainian side to resolve the conflict,” he said.

It should also be recalled that before the first summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded as conditions for ending the war the transfer of the entire territory of four Ukrainian regions to Russia, Ukrainian neutrality and the lifting of sanctions on Russia. These conditions were rejected by both Ukraine and the West.