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In an interview with Russian journalists on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke at length about an important point in possible peace negotiations: the possibility of neutrality for Ukraine.
“We are ready to accept this“, Said Zelensky. ““This is the most important point.”
Zelensky and Ukrainian officials have long said they are ready to talk about Ukraine neutrality if NATO is not ready to accept the country as a member of the Alliance.
This, in theory, would meet one of the demands of Russian President Vladimir Putin: for Ukraine to give up its NATO aspirations.
But it is not as simple as that. Zelensky also made it clear that Ukraine would reject “neutrality” without legally binding security guarantees. And with Ukraine under Russian occupation, the Ukrainian leader has said he is not interested in empty promises.
““I am interested in making sure that it is not just a piece of paper a la Budapest Memorandum.” he said.
Zelensky referred to a moment slightly remembered in post-Cold War history. With the fall of the USSR, Ukraine, at least on paper, came into possession of the world’s third largest nuclear reserve.
Russia maintained operational control of these weapons, but Ukraine signed an agreement in 1994 to give up nuclear weapons stationed on its territory in exchange for security guarantees, including the protection of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and political independence. This is something that Russia, a signatory to the Budapest Memorandum, resolutely violated with the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the occupation of Ukraine in February.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Zelensky, has said that security guarantees should, in essence, include a commitment by guarantors to help Ukraine in the event of aggression.
And it’s important to add that neutrality, the kind that Putin might find enjoyable, is not something Zelensky can simply offer. The aspiration for NATO membership is enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine.
This is where Zelensky gave Russian interviewers a little lesson about Ukraine’s democratic processes. Security guarantees, he explained, would have to be followed by a referendum in Ukraine.
“Why? “Because we have a law on referendums.” said Zelensky. “It simply came to our notice then. Changes to this or that status… And security guarantees presuppose constitutional changes. Do you understand or not? Constitutional changes. “
And here lies the difference. Russia has a political system built around one man, Putin, and Zelensky is the head of a democratic state. Even if neutrality is on the table, the Ukrainian people will have to have their say, writes CNN.
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