Growing Negotiations... Russia Says "No Dialogue Without Territorial Recognition" (Comprehensive)

Temperature Gap Between US and French Leaders Over Talks with Putin

On the 1st (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden (left in the photo) and French President Emmanuel Macron toasted at the White House state dinner. Photo by AFP Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Russia stated that the recognition of Russian territory in the occupied areas within Ukraine must come first in response to the possibility of ceasefire negotiations hinted at by the U.S. and French leaders. Ukraine has also firmly declared that it will not engage in negotiations without the return of its territory, making it unlikely that talks will begin or that the situation will shift toward a ceasefire phase.

According to the British BBC and others on the 2nd (local time), Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin, told reporters, "The fact that the United States still does not recognize Russia's 'new territories' has made finding a mutual common ground for dialogue very complicated."

He said that dialogue guaranteeing Russia's interests remains open, but if the condition proposed by the U.S. is withdrawal from Ukraine, Russia is not ready to talk with the U.S. He emphasized, "The special military operation will continue."

Peskov added, "The preferred method of Russian President Vladimir Putin is to achieve goals through diplomatic means," but "attempts to engage in dialogue with NATO, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the United States have not been successful."

The previous day, U.S. President Joe Biden mentioned the possibility of dialogue with President Putin during a press conference following a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron.

President Biden said, "If President Putin is genuinely interested in deciding to seek a way to end the war, I am ready to talk with him," indicating a conditional possibility.

Regarding this, CNN reported that although Presidents Biden and Macron reaffirmed their commitments to Ukraine during their meeting, there was a difference in tone concerning willingness to engage in talks with President Putin.

President Macron stated at a press conference after the summit with President Biden that he plans to have a phone call with President Putin within a few days. CNN analyzed this as a more proactive stance compared to Biden's position of "no immediate plans to contact."

However, President Macron added, "We will not urge Ukrainians to accept compromises they cannot accept," and "If we want sustainable peace, we must respect Ukraine's decision on the timing and conditions for negotiating its territory and future."

President Macron also expressed in an interview with ABC News that he is willing to talk with President Putin as long as Ukraine sets the conditions for peace negotiations.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also firmly stated that he will not engage in negotiations without the return of Ukrainian territory, leading to expectations that initiating talks or shifting the situation will be difficult.

In a video interview at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum held in Singapore on the 17th, President Zelensky said, "The only condition to end the nine-month war is to regain the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, and the Donbas region occupied by Russia."

He stated, "A simple ceasefire is meaningless," and "Unless we liberate all our territory, peace will not come." He continued, "The Crimean Peninsula is part of our territory and part of our sovereignty," emphasizing again, "Effective control over Crimea and Donbas, which are our sovereign territories, is a prerequisite to ending this war."