We cannot expect concessions from Russia, Zakharova warned

If the United States really wanted to end the conflict, “it would contribute to the withdrawal of the Ukrainian army from its positions on the territory of the four new subjects of the Russian Federation,” Zakharova said, according to the Interfax agency. She had four Ukrainian regions in mind: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye. After the February 2022 invasion, Russia partially occupied them and then claimed them as their own in complete violation of international law.

It is the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from these areas that Russian President Vladimir Putin sets as a condition for negotiations on ending the fighting. At the same time, among other things, he demands that Ukraine undertake not to join NATO.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi rejected these conditions because, according to him, they would mean capitulation. On Monday, however, he spoke out in favor of a diplomatic solution, and his statements, according to Reuters, indicate a growing openness to negotiations. At the same time, however, Zelenskyy continues to strive for Ukraine’s entry into the North Atlantic Alliance and for effective security guarantees that will ensure that Russia does not attack the country again.

Zakharova also complained that, although Moscow is ready to negotiate with the new American administration, it has not yet received any serious and feasible proposals from the team of the next American president.

Over the weekend, Trump held talks in Paris with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. However, his plans regarding the American approach to the Russian invasion of Ukraine are still unclear. At the same time, Trump makes it clear that he intends to end the war quickly and that he is bothered by the current amount of American aid to the attacked country. His recent statement that the fighting in Ukraine should stop immediately and that peace negotiations should begin did not put Zakharova in a conciliatory mood.

“If anyone expects Russia to make any concessions, then obviously these people don’t have enough knowledge, or maybe they have a short memory,” she said.

At the same time, the spokeswoman warned Russian citizens not to travel to the USA, Canada and “with exceptions” to EU countries. She described Canada and the EU countries as American satellites, but did not specify the mentioned exceptions.

“In connection with the increasing confrontation in Russian-American relations, which have found themselves on the verge of interruption due to Washington, trips to the USA are full of serious risks,” she said.

Russia continues to accuse the United States of detaining its citizens on “fabricated charges.” Relations between Moscow and Washington are now described as the worst since the Cuban crisis in 1962. They were frozen by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when the US sided with the attacked Kiev.