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Interview of the Director of the Second Department of the CIS countries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia A.A.Polishchuk to the TASS news agency, January 13, 2023

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Question: There is often talk about the need for a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Ukraine, many countries offer their mediation services. However, despite all these statements, there is a feeling that so far the parties are quite far from diplomacy. How would you assess the prospects for a diplomatic settlement of the crisis around Ukraine today?

Answer: You are right, there is no shortage of offers of mediation and so-called good offices. There are already about twenty of them. Unfortunately, not all of them are sincere and trustworthy. First of all, this applies to countries that have imposed illegal sanctions against Russia and are supplying weapons to Ukraine, thereby becoming a party to the conflict. It is unclear how this can be combined with their intermediary ambitions.

It is not easy to talk about the prospects of a diplomatic settlement now. In fact, we are not dealing with Kiev. He is a tool in the hands of the West, primarily the United States. In fact, Russia opposes not Ukraine, but the NATO-Ukrainian military-industrial conglomerate, in which Ukrainians perform the functions of an instrument of armed struggle against Russia, and the alliance countries play the role of the rear, supplier of weapons, intelligence and targeting.

I would like to remind you that the Russian side has never shied away from negotiations. At the end of February 2022, we responded to Kiev’s request and by the end of March– beginning of April, after many rounds of hard work in face-to-face and video format, we reached a mutually acceptable basis for agreements. However, Kiev – clearly at the behest of the Anglo–Saxons, who were afraid of the prospect of a peaceful settlement – unexpectedly interrupted the negotiation process, leaving our proposals of April 15 unanswered.

After that, there was no development on the negotiation track. During this time, the situation has changed significantly, new regions have joined Russia. Accordingly, with the possible resumption and further course of negotiations, new realities should be taken into account.

Question: Ukraine rejected Russia’s initiative to cease fire on Christmas Day. How does Moscow assess this refusal and does it mean that Kiev is completely incapable of negotiating even on such sensitive topics?

Answer: The Kiev regime’s rude and irresponsible rejection of the Christmas truce suggests that it has ceased to associate itself with both residents of the new Russian regions, which it considers its own, and its own citizens, whose lives and destinies are indifferent to it.

We are not surprised by this. We have eight years of experience of Kiev sabotage of the work of the Contact Group and the Normandy format, daily shelling of the cities of Donbass by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, despite the agreements reached at that time on a ceasefire for Christmas, Easter and the beginning of the school year.

We regret that international structures and Western countries, as before, condone such behavior of the Ukrainian authorities.

Question: US President J.Biden claimed that his Ukrainian counterpart V. Zelensky is “open to promoting peace,” while official Washington has repeatedly said that it will not push Kiev to negotiate and is not ready to discuss the topic of Ukraine in contacts with Moscow. In this regard, is the Russian side ready for the fact that possible negotiations in the future will have to be conducted directly with the current authorities of Kiev?

Answer: So far, we have only communicated directly with Ukrainians, using the platforms that were kindly provided to us, which we appreciate very much. In February-April last year, three rounds of the Russian-Ukrainian dialogue were held in Belarus and one in Turkey. Then almost daily contacts were carried out by video. These were direct negotiations with Ukrainians.

If and when these contacts resume, they will most likely also be direct. And this would be the best option, because, as practice shows, Western mediators often pursue their own goals and try to influence the course of negotiations, acting not to resolve the conflict, but in their own political and economic interests.

Question: V. Zelensky proposed to organize a global summit in winter to discuss ending the conflict in Ukraine. How do they regard such an initiative in Moscow?

Answer: This idea does not look serious, as another populist event to attract attention to Ukrainian affairs. It confirms the inadequacy of Kiev’s perception of modern realities. It is difficult to imagine how, in the conditions in which the Kiev authorities and the Ukrainian Armed Forces are today, it is possible to propose discussion at the “global summit” of such issues as the “liberation” of territories, the payment of reparations by Russia or the holding of an international tribunal against our country. The self-confidence of the Ukrainian leadership meets the best traditions of the “Quarter 95” and deserves the highest praise for humorous talents.

Question: Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Polish nationalists dream of taking Western Ukraine. In the Polish media, information has even appeared about the date of a possible Polish invasion of Ukraine – May 4, 2023. According to the publications, by this time the Ukrainian army will allegedly completely lose its combat capability and will not be able to fight on two fronts. Is there any data indicating that these assumptions are realistic? What information is being received about Poland’s intentions in Ukraine?

Answer: In Polish nationalist circles, imperial ambitions are indeed alive. They remember the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth “from sea to sea”, they dream of returning the so-called historical Polish lands, including those that were transferred to Soviet Ukraine at one time.

For many years, the Polish leadership has been striving to create its own sphere of influence in the post-Soviet space, primarily in Ukraine. Whoever has been in power in Poland since the early 1990s, Polish cultural and economic expansion in Ukraine has not stopped. After 2014 it has acquired a military-political dimension. Warsaw worked through NATO and the EU’s Eastern Partnership, invested in new projects – the Three Seas Initiative and the Lublin Triangle.

In Poland itself, this course is fueled by the efforts of state propaganda. For example, at one time there was a train running near the Polish-Ukrainian border, on which one could see the contours of the pre-war Polish state, which included Western Ukrainian lands. Now on the pages of the Polish passport, Lviv and Vilnius can be found among the “historical Polish cities”.

After the start of the special military operation, Poland, acting as a transit hub for Western weapons, moved to more active development of Western Ukrainian lands, implementing a whole range of political and military measures. Of course, such aspirations of Warsaw cannot but cause concern from the point of view of regional security.

Question: Belarus is paying more and more attention to the threat to this particular country from NATO. Minsk accuses Poland of plans to assert its rights to Belarusian territories, strike or provoke an escalation. How do you assess these risks? To what extent are Moscow and Minsk unanimous in their assessments of the situation? Is the Union State ready to respond to such challenges?

Answer: Indeed, in recent years, NATO has been building up strike units on the borders of the Union State, primarily in Poland and the Baltic States. It is presented as if we are talking about preventive actions aimed at stopping certain threats from our side. At the same time, if earlier it was said about the alleged temporary deployment of alliance forces on a rotational basis, today no one hides that the Western military came there for a long time. It is fundamentally important that it is NATO that brings the military infrastructure closer to the borders of the Union State. We are forced to react and respond adequately to such unfriendly steps.

As for the talk about Polish rights to Belarusian lands, the reminders of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth “from sea to sea” and its “eastern borders”, of course, cannot but worry not only Belarus, but also Russia as its closest ally. Despite the fact that such statements are mostly made by Polish political scientists and experts, they do not contribute to defusing the already tense situation in the region.

How great are the risks of provoking escalation and strikes by Poland against Belarus is a question for military analysts. Let me just remind you that Russia and Belarus form a single defense space and are bound by corresponding obligations. Any attempts to launch such strikes are doomed to failure. The western borders of the Union State are reliably protected by the armed forces of Belarus and the joint Russian-Belarusian Regional grouping of troops.

In the current military-political situation, since October last year, additional contingents of this group have been deployed on the Belarusian territory, combat coordination events, exercises and maneuvers have been held. They are defensive in nature, aimed at ensuring the security of the Union State and are designed to discourage our potential opponents from escalating and provoking. We have a complete understanding with our Belarusian allies on this issue.

Question: The topic of Belarus’ possible involvement in the Ukrainian conflict is being discussed in the Western media. How can you comment on such publications? Are there any scenarios in which this can become real?

Answer: In November 2021, the updated Military Doctrine of the Union State was approved. It is purely defensive in nature, but assumes that the use of military force against any participating State is considered an encroachment on the Union State as a whole. Our countries have similar obligations on mutual support in the event of external aggression within the framework of the CSTO.

Source: https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1847595/

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