2023-11-03 10:49:07
Oleksiy Arestovych wants to do everything differently: The Ukrainian politician is calling for a “temporary deal” with Russia – and is making serious allegations against Zelensky.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has competition: Ukrainian politician Oleksiy Arestovych wants to challenge him in the next presidential election and is calling for negotiations with Russia to reach a ceasefire.
“I am convinced that continuing the fighting is pointless. This only means dozens and hundreds of new deaths every day, and neither side can be interested in that. That is why it is time to sit down at the negotiating table,” said Arestovych Conversation with “Stern” with a view to Ukraine’s sluggish counteroffensive.
In the past, Moscow had set strict conditions for possible negotiations with Ukraine. In order for Russia to even agree to possible peace negotiations, Ukraine would have to lay down its arms, give up ambitions to join NATO, accept Russian as an official state language and recognize the Crimean peninsula as Russian.
Recently, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also said that Western states must stop striving for Russia’s strategic defeat. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj had so far rejected possible negotiations due to the Kremlin’s strict conditions.
Arestovych would not recapture territories militarily
Arestovych, however, would apparently accommodate the demands: “We are freezing the conflict, achieving a situation that is similar to the Cold War between the Federal Republic and the GDR. We are not giving up the territories that Russia has occupied, but we are committed to doing so “Not to recapture it militarily,” was his compromise. “That means we’re making a temporary deal,” he says.
He is also betting that Ukraine will actually be admitted to NATO. He does not address Russia’s demand for renunciation of NATO membership. “Their protection will only extend to the territory that is de facto controlled by Ukraine. We will pursue the return of the occupied territories through political means,” said Arestovych. He didn’t say exactly how he planned to do this.
Loading…
Embed
In an interview with “Stern” he explains that he does not believe that Ukraine is currently in a position to win the war on the battlefield. The Ukrainian army failed to take the city of Tokmak on the front in the south. “De facto, Commander Saluzhny has declared the end of the offensive. The impasse, and it is a bloody impasse, is obvious,” said Arestovych
“Zelenskyj is behaving like a typical authoritarian leader”
The Ukrainian politician was one of Zelensky’s closest advisors for a long time, but he resigned from his post at the beginning of the year after conflicts arose with Zelensky’s environment. Now he lives abroad and sharply criticizes his former ally: “Zelenskyj is an authoritarian leader, and that contradicts the slogans of freedom with which we are waging war against Russia,” claims Arestovych.
In his view, the Ukrainian government is moving “in the direction of an authoritarian regime with chauvinistic elements.” Zelensky is damaging relations with Western allies. “He is behaving today like a typical authoritarian leader who has lost touch with reality, who has a distorted view of the world, who demands an unrealistic level of sacrifice from his people, who restricts them economically and politically,” said Arestovytsch.
Martial law prevents election
Arestovych therefore calls on Zelenskyj and his party in an interview with “Stern” to clear the way for elections even in wartime by amending the constitution: “There is no way around elections. Today 70 percent of Ukrainians think that the political leadership is theirs of the country can and must criticize. Six months ago that was only 26 percent. This shows that the government has lost legitimacy.” He himself then wants to compete against Zelenskyj.
Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression, Ukraine has been under a state of war, under which elections are prohibited by law. The elections scheduled for October have now been postponed to March 2024 – but Zelensky can only allow them, he recently said, if Western countries support Ukraine financially. The reason? It would mean enormous costs to ensure that the millions of Ukrainians who have fled to neighboring European countries and the soldiers can vote. This should not be deducted from the defense budget.
1699012120
#Exconfidant #calls #Zelensky #negotiate #Moscow