Any Negotiations With Russia Are “Suspended” Because Of Moscow’s Mindset, Ukrainian Official Says

Negotiations with Russia on resolving the conflict have been suspended, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

It was because “Russia is still in its stereotypical mindset,” he said on Ukrainian television Tuesday, adding that Russia doesn’t realize that the war “is no longer going on according to the rules, their plans, and schedule.”

Since the two delegations met in Istanbul, “there’s no significant changes, no progress,” he said. “The resistance of Ukraine, the professional resistance just grows, that’s why there’s no way Russia achieves its goals.”

Podolyak also rejected any territorial concessions.

“The war will not end if we give some of our territories there. This is not acceptable for Ukraine, and it will not be accepted by Ukrainian society. Minsk-2 could be signed by another president. President Zelensky will not sign it. Because any Minsk-2 is a postponement of the war, even more destructive, for example, in a year or two,” he said.

Minsk-2 would have accorded significant autonomy to the territory in the east that has been under the control of Russian-backed separatists since 2014.

Meanwhile, Russian state news agency reported Tuesday that Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko confirmed negotiations are not happening, but he reportedly said it’s because Kyiv withdrew from the process.

Kyiv did not provide a response to the draft treaty proposed by Russia, Rudenko added.

The decision of the foreign ministers of the EU member states to allocate another 500 million euros ($527 million) to Ukraine from the European Peace Fund for weapon purchases is prolonging the conflict, according to Rudenko.