On Monday, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators once again failed to reach a consensus on a ceasefire at the fourth round of peace talks.
Ahead of the talks, which took place virtually after a “technical delay,” Ukraine made its demands clear: “peace, an immediate ceasefire, and the withdrawal of Russian troops,” a position Ukrainian officials have maintained since the first round of talks. Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Mikhailo Podolyak, emphasised that only after reaching a consensus on the aforementioned conditions will Kyiv enter discussions over regional issues and political differences. He also called Russia’s military strategy in Ukraine “delusional,” asserting that 19 days of military assault had yielded nothing for Moscow.
A brilliant visualisation by @FT based on the data we've been collecting, verifying and mapping at @Cen4infoRes on the Russia-Ukraine Monitor Map: https://t.co/QwQrTWsmBF. Well done @neggeen_s & @sdbernard. Here's the FT piece: https://t.co/nSyaIkQr2X pic.twitter.com/yHDz7TuxKF
— Benjamin Strick (@BenDoBrown) March 15, 2022
Over the weekend, officials from both Ukraine and Russia expressed optimism regarding the upcoming talks. Russian negotiator Leonid Slutsky said that Moscow saw “considerable progress” in the talks, adding that the two sides could sign documents in the coming days.
After the Monday meeting, Ukraine’s Podolyak remarked that the two sides find themselves in “discord” due to their contrasting political systems. He said the Russian government is used to the “ultimate suppression” of its society, unlike the Ukrainians, who support “free dialogue within the society and an obligatory consensus.”
The parties actively express their specified positions. Communication is being held yet it’s hard. The reason for the discord is too different political systems. 🇺🇦 is a free dialogue within the society & an obligatory consensus. 🇷🇺 is an ultimatum suppression of its own society pic.twitter.com/O00fnCd1WP
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) March 14, 2022
Russia’s lead negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, affirmed that the two sides will continue to maintain contact virtually “every day, seven days a week,” without commenting on the development of the meeting itself. However, he added that the Russian delegation is doing its best to achieve the results outlined by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The fourth round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia came in light of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Turkey, the first high-level meeting between the two at-war countries. Last week, Russia told Ukraine to recognise the statehood of Donetsk and Luhansk, accept Crimea as Russian territory, and adopt a neutral status towards the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in order to end the war in Ukraine.
#Ukraine In Kharkiv, during the evacuation of people from a ruined block of apartments, Russians began targeting the neighbourhood pic.twitter.com/hJf9bXrFGB
— Hanna Liubakova (@HannaLiubakova) March 15, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that the talks will continue in the upcoming days by saying they were “pretty good,” and added that his government is trying very hard to set up a meeting between Putin and him. Zelensky will also separately address members of the United States (US) Congress on Wednesday for the first time since Russia’s invasion began.