Ukraine's leadership has responded to a weekend Washington Post report which said the White House has been privately urging the Ukrainian government to show openness toward negotiations with Russia. The report called these efforts part of "a calculated attempt to ensure the government in Kyiv maintains the support of other nations facing constituencies wary of fueling a war for many years to come." It also cited "Ukraine fatigue" among the Western voting public.
In response, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reaffirmed the long stated stance that negotiations remain impossible so long as Vladimir Putin is president.
"Ukraine has never refused to negotiate. Our negotiating position is known and open," the presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, wrote on Twitter. He stipulated that negotiations can only come after Russian forces withdraw from Ukrainian territory. He followed by posing: "Is Putin ready? Obviously not. Therefore, we are constructive in our assessment: we will talk with the next leader of RF [the Russian Federation]."
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| Via Associated Press |
In early October, Zelensky had signed a decree seeking to enshrine the stance in Ukrainian law, which states that negotiations can never be held with Putin in power. "He (Putin) does not know what dignity and honesty are. Therefore, we are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president of Russia," Zelensky explained at the time.
Not only has Kiev said it won't negotiate until it drives Russia out of Ukraine, but Zelensky has even pledged the "liberation" of Crimea. If such a hard line toward the conflict is held to, it's likely to ensure a devasting and slow-grinding conflict possibly for years to come, or else uncontrollable escalation which eventually brings the West more directly into the war against Russia.
The WaPo report indicated the White House is fully cognizant of the growing war fatigue - also amid increased vocal GOP objections to the 'blank check' approach to Ukraine foreign aid:
While U.S. officials share their Ukrainian counterparts’ assessment that Putin, for now, isn’t serious about negotiations, they acknowledge that President Volodymyr Zelensky’s ban on talks with him has generated concern in parts of Europe, Africa and Latin America, where the war’s disruptive effects on the availability and cost of food and fuel are felt most sharply.
"Ukraine fatigue is a real thing for some of our partners," said one U.S. official who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations between Washington and Kyiv.
Important: Ukraine has never refused to negotiate. Our negotiating position is known and open.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) November 7, 2022
1. First, RF withdraws troops from 🇺🇦
2.After everything else
Is Putin ready? Obviously not. Therefore, we are constructive in our assessment: we will talk with the next leader of RF.
US officials cited in the report said the onset of a harsh winter, and the fact that Ukraine is already experiencing rolling emergency blackouts due to Russia's attacks on the energy grid, is likely to make Zelensky amenable to ceasefire talks.
The US officials believe that Kiev "is attempting to lock in as many military gains as it can before winter sets in, when there might be a window for diplomacy." Currently, there appears growing skepticism and some degree of pushback among American voters over the tens of billions of dollars being doled out to Ukraine, even amid rising food and energy costs - as well as inflation at home.
(Article by Tyler Durden republished from Zerohedge.com)
