Russia names conditions for peaceful settlement of Ukrainian crisis

Russia is ready for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, but Moscow has a number of conditions, Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, said in an interview with RTVI.

There are a number of conditions for which a "comprehensive, just and sustainable peace" in Ukraine and Europe can be possible, the diplomat said.

According to Galuzin:

• the West should stop supplying weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
• all armed formations must cease hostilities;
• foreign mercenaries should be withdrawn from the territory of Ukraine.

Galuzin also drew attention to mandatory neutral and non-bloc status of Ukraine:

• The republic must decline its intention to join NATO and the European Union;
• Kyiv must also confirm its non-nuclear status, he added.

Galuzin also voiced Moscow's requirements for the international community. Just like Kyiv, foreign governments must recognize the "new territorial realities", that is, the accession of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), as well as Zaporozhye and Kherson regions to Russia.

"It is important to restore Ukraine's contractual and legal base with Russia and the CIS, as well as — at the expense of the West — the civilian infrastructure that has been destroyed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine after 2014,” Mikhail Galuzin added.

It is also important for Ukraine and the West to lift anti-Russian sanctions, withdraw lawsuits, cease legal proceedings against Russia, Russian individuals and legal entities, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia said.