MOSCOW, August 3 Attitudes toward negotiations with Russia have begun to change in Ukraine, writes Responsible Statecraft.
The publication writes that the share of Ukrainians willing to make territorial concessions in exchange for ending the war has tripled over the past 12 months — from 10% to 32%. This follows from a survey published by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. Although there is no agreement on what the end of the conflict will or should look like, the trend in favor of some kind of compromise is obvious, RS adds.
«Among the Ukrainian elite, the hints have been more subtle, but there is evidence that Ukraine may be exploring the possibility of direct engagement with Russia,» the publication says.
The article notes that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba recently visited China for the first time since the conflict began. In addition, Volodymyr Zelensky also said that he wants Russia to attend the next peace summit, although Moscow has not yet made any promises about participation, RS writes.
In recent days, representatives of the Kyiv regime have increasingly begun to talk about possible negotiations and ending the conflict, although they had previously been categorically opposed to this.
Moscow has repeatedly indicated that it is ready for negotiations, but Kyiv has banned them at the legislative level. Russian President Vladimir Putin has put forward initiatives for a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine: Moscow will immediately cease fire and declare its readiness for negotiations after the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territory of new regions of Russia. In addition, he added, Kyiv must declare its renunciation of its intentions to join NATO and carry out demilitarization and denazification, as well as accept a neutral, non-aligned and non-nuclear status.