Why these Ukrainian diplomats, leaders have little hope peace talks will soon end Russia's war
CBC
The announcement from the Russian news agency TASS over the weekend might have sounded too good to be true for Ukrainians, and for those distraught by the devastation inflicted by Russian bombs and missiles on Ukrainian cities and civilians.
It quoted prominent Russian Duma deputy Leonid Slutsky as saying peace talks between Ukraine and Russia have made "considerable progress" and that "documents could be signed" within days.
In response, Ukrainian negotiators said they sensed a shift in the utterly unfounded Russian position of its "denazification" and "demilitarization" of Ukraine. They also said they sensed that their own demands were finally being listened to by the Russian officials on the other side of the table.
But in interviews with CBC News, Ukrainian leaders and veteran Ukrainian diplomats are putting little faith in this current round of talks to stop the war.
Instead, they believe Russian statements that negotiations are progressing are, at best, disingenuous — and are more likely an effort to deflect failure to secure a ceasefire onto Ukraine.
They also fear it will take another lengthy period of intense warfare, with terrible civilian casualties, before the Kremlin is ready to make a deal that Ukraine could accept.
"Listen, I think Putin was very clear when he explained that he just does not accept the idea of Ukraine," said Andriy Shevchenko, a former Ukrainian MP who served as Ukraine's ambassador in Ottawa for six years, until 2021.
He told CBC News that most Ukrainians see Russian President Vladimir Putin's war of aggression against their nation as an effort to destroy the Ukrainian identity.
"I think he cannot acknowledge any chance for Ukraine being a sovereign nation, deciding for itself what kind of future it wants to have," Shevchenko said. "Everyone in Ukraine again badly wants peace, but I think our expectations for these negotiations are very low at the moment."
Shevchenko spoke to CBC News in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, where he is organizing an international media centre to help share Ukrainian perspectives about the war with the rest of the world.
Despite the danger, he continues to travel back and forth to the capital Kyiv, where his wife is a TV presenter and reports on Ukraine's defence.
"We are dealing with a man [Putin] who is absolutely obsessed with historical delusions and hallucinations and I think it's just a waste of time trying to figure out what exactly he wants," Shevchenko said.
Until now, the public position taken by Russian negotiators has been to demand Ukraine's unconditional surrender, along with the removal of Volodymyr Zelensky as president.
They have also indicated that any future Ukrainian government would have to change its constitution to prohibit it from joining organizations like the European Union or military alliances such as NATO.
