Russia opposes freezing the war in Ukraine and intends to achieve its goals by military or other available means, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
“Russia is only considering completing a special military operation: securing its interests, achieving Russia’s goals either through a special military operation or other available means,” Peskov said in an interview with TASS.
According to him, it is premature to talk about a peaceful settlement of the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv. “So far there are no preconditions for a peaceful settlement, obviously,” he stressed. He also added that on the part of the Ukrainian authorities “any negotiations with Russia are forbidden”.
In April, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine was ready to discuss any peace plan that did not involve freezing the conflict with Russia or surrendering its territory.
Any attempt to freeze or prolong the conflict will only lead to “an unfinished war smolding in the heart of Europe and a permanent erosion of the foundations of global security”, said Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office.
European leaders also oppose the freeze. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Ukraine was ready for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, but not on Moscow’s terms. “Russia must withdraw its troops, there is no other way”, Scholz stressed. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called fundamentally wrong any peace plans that do not provide for the return to Kyiv of the territories it lost.
The U.S. also spoke out against any attempt to “stall for time”. “The world should not be fooled by a tactical ploy by Russia, supported by China or any other country, to freeze the war on its own terms”, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said.
However, as Politico wrote, citing informed sources, the U.S. does not rule out a scenario in which the conflict in Ukraine would stretch over many years or even decades and become similar to the situation on the Korean Peninsula. In this case, it is possible to agree on the boundary lines, which Ukraine and Russia will agree not to cross, but they will not necessarily be official boundaries, the sources specified.
