Negotiations on a settlement between Moscow and Kiev should not lead to a "bad peace" that will not end the current military conflict, but only postpone the next one, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky wrote in an article for European Truth.
According to the diplomat, a ceasefire will be a "reward" for Russia, which "will freeze territorial achievements or deprive Ukraine of its rightful place in the European and transatlantic community."
If Russia does not bear responsibility and returns the frozen assets, "as if nothing had happened," and European countries will be forced to pay for the restoration of Ukraine, "it will not be peace, but capitulation disguised as diplomacy," Lipavsky believes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow "does not need a truce, but a long-term, lasting peace, guaranteed by guarantees for the Russian Federation and its citizens." Last July, he said that Russia could not be the first to agree to a cease-fire, because it was not sure that Ukraine would do the same. A month earlier, he announced the conditions for peace talks, which include the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions and Kiev's consent to a neutral, non-aligned and nuclear-free status.
Ukraine called these demands an ultimatum. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kiev needs security guarantees and a strong negotiating position for a ceasefire, the country cannot agree to freeze the conflict.
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