According to Pravda Ukraine has received three ultimatums from Russia:
- Ð´ÐµÐ¼Ð¸Ð»Ð¸Ñ‚Ð°Ñ€Ð¸Ð·Ð°Ñ†Ð¸Ñ Ð£ÐºÑ€Ð°Ð¸Ð½Ñ‹,
- отказ вÑÑ‚ÑƒÐ¿Ð»ÐµÐ½Ð¸Ñ ÐµÑ‘ в ÐÐТО,
- и прÑмые переговоры Ñ Ð”ÐРи ЛÐÐ .
- demilitarization of Ukraine,
- renunciation of joining NATO,
- and direct negotiations with the the Donetsk and Luhansk regions (“People’s Republics”)
I’m not really sure of the implications of any of those or whether fulfilling them will actually satisfy Russia. For example, at least some of the warfare being conducted in the eastern Ukraine is being conducted by irregulars. What would demilitarizing them imply? And what would the objective of direct negotiations with the two regions be?
https://www.npr.org/2022/02/21/1082124528/ukraine-russia-putin-invasion
“Three decades ago, the newly independent country of Ukraine was briefly the third-largest nuclear power in the world.
Thousands of nuclear arms had been left on Ukrainian soil by Moscow after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But in the years that followed, Ukraine made the decision to completely denuclearize.
In exchange, the U.S., the U.K. and Russia would guarantee Ukraine’s security in a 1994 agreement known as the Budapest Memorandum.
Now, that agreement is front and center again.
Mariana Budjeryn of Harvard University spoke with All Things Considered about the legacy of the Budapest Memorandum and its impact today.”
Perhaps Putin is waiting for the right moment to ride his steed bare chested into Ukraine to claim that Russia is back!
So if Ukraine gets rid of its military Russia will negotiate, presumably while it is occupied. Sounds like negotiations really means “do what we want”.
Steve