The head of the Ukrainian delegation in the peace talks with Russia, David Arajamia, pointed to the possibility of resuming talks at the end of August, once Kiev manages to reinforce its position with a series of counteroffensives.
In an interview with the “Voice of America” broadcaster, which was broadcast today by Ukrainian media, the head of negotiators said that Kiev did not plan to resume talks for the time being, but only at the end of the summer.
Asked what will change between today and August, Arajamia declined to give details, but said he believed there would be “counter-offensive operations in some places”.
To resume negotiations, stalled since the end of March, the negotiator placed the condition that Ukrainian forces manage to significantly strengthen their control over the territory or that Russian troops “voluntarily” withdraw to their positions before February 24, day the invasion began.
Once that requirement is met, it would be possible for Ukraine to sit at the negotiating table and deal “through diplomatic and political channels” with issues such as the return of breakaway territories in the Donbass and the Crimean peninsula.
“We would be willing to consider a political agreement, like the one we proposed in Istanbul,” added Arajamia, referring to the latest round of face-to-face talks between Kiev and Moscow, which took place on March 29.
After these meetings, Russia accused the Ukrainian negotiators of having interrupted the dialogue.
Currently, the Ukrainian government is reluctant to return to the negotiating table because it believes that Moscow is not trustworthy and that, with a ceasefire at this point, Russia would have definitive control over the territories occupied during the invasion.