Russia officially stated that it is not interested in resuming trilateral negotiations regarding the end of the war until Ukraine withdraws its troops from the territory of Donbas. This was reported by the assistant to the President of Russia, Yuri Ushakov, on May 7.
This is reported by Finway
Russia’s condition for resuming negotiations
Yuri Ushakov emphasized that the key precondition for ceasing hostilities and starting substantive discussions about a long-term resolution of the situation is the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Donbas.
“Everyone understands, including, I would say, the Ukrainian negotiators, that Kyiv now needs to take just one serious step, after which, firstly, military actions will cease, and secondly, prospects for serious discussions on further long-term resolution will open,” said an assistant to Vladimir Putin.
According to Ushakov, in the opinion of the Russian side, further attempts to convince Ukraine of the necessity of this step are a waste of time until President Volodymyr Zelensky agrees to the withdrawal of troops.
Status of the negotiation process and alternative options
Negotiations to end the Russian-Ukrainian war, which involve the United States, have been suspended since the end of February. The main reason for the pause was the escalation in the Middle East, which caused American representatives, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to focus on resolving relations with Iran.
Before the announcement of the pause, the parties managed to reach agreements on a number of technical issues. At the same time, the main obstacle remained the dispute over the status of Donbas: Russia insists on the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk region, while Ukraine insists on a ceasefire along the actual front line. Alternative scenarios, including the creation of a free economic demilitarized zone in the territory of Donetsk, were also considered with the participation of the United States.