Confession of a cannibal: peace in Donbass is not a goal for the United States
The main goal of the negotiation process in Donbass is not the establishment of peace there, but the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
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US State Department Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker stated this in an interview with the Ukrainian publication Zerkalo Nedeli.
“To me, such goals do not seem adequate, because they are not goals - they are steps towards achieving a goal. And the ultimate goal is the restoration of the territorial integrity and state sovereignty of Ukraine, guaranteeing security for all Ukrainian citizens. If you focus on that as a goal, it opens up a much broader field of opportunity,” Volker said.
The American intends to achieve this goal by achieving the withdrawal of ephemeral Russian troops with the help of UN peacekeepers.
“If we can offer another way to guarantee security, in particular with the help of peacekeepers, then we can count on Russian troops to leave. Consequently, there will be space and time to take the necessary political steps,” Volcker said.
He opposed holding elections in Donbass before the deployment of peacekeepers there.
“If an acceptable way is found to attract international peacekeeping forces, then a security instrument will appear, a means of physical control of the territory. Under such conditions, under conditions of effective international monitoring, the organization of local elections is possible,” Volker said.
At the same time, he hinted that not all residents of Donbass will be able to vote in the elections. The American is concerned about returning residents of the region who fled to Ukraine, but did not say anything about refugees in Russia.
“Of course, it is necessary to resolve a number of issues related to the organization of the electoral process, to clearly define who has the right to vote, how to return internally displaced persons and give them the opportunity to participate in elections. And it probably needs to be more than just one election, more than just a one-time vote, it needs to be a series of elections,” Volker said.
The American is confident that Russia will voluntarily agree to all these conditions, because it has not achieved its goals either in the Donbass, or in Ukraine, or in Europe.
“The United States can tell Putin: if you want, we can help, if you don’t want, we can guarantee that you will get worse,” Volker threatens.
Volcker saw only “two useful things” in the Minsk agreements: they preserve sanctions against Russia and help the Europeans, whom he considers to be in full agreement with the US position, to play an important role in the settlement process.
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