Over the next hundred years, reconciliation between Russia and Ukraine, as well as cooperation between the two states, is impossible. This opinion was expressed by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in an interview with the German edition of Focus. The responses of the Head of Cabinet are published on the Ukrainian government website.
“Reconciliation, cooperation – no, not in the next 100 years. Russia must first change, be democratized, demilitarized and denuclearized,” Shmyhal said.
Asked what could contribute to this, the Prime Minister listed the following measures: sanctions, non-cooperation with Moscow, confiscation of Russian assets and military assistance to Ukraine.
Focus asked Shmyhal to assess how long Ukrainians are prepared to live in a military conflict with casualties. The Prime Minister said he was convinced that Ukrainian society “is ready to fight for freedom and independence”.
“In this context, it is psychologically important to reassure international politicians that they will support us for as long as it takes,” he said.
At the same time, Shmyhal ruled out the possibility of freezing the conflict. According to him, such a decision “would play the game” of Russia.
Speaking about the possibility of territorial concessions in exchange for Ukraine’s early entry into the EU and security guarantees for the rest of the country, Shmyhal stressed that the country’s authorities see “no compromise regarding their territorial integrity “.
“Society will not allow this,” added the Ukrainian Prime Minister.
At the end of January, Shmyhal said that Ukraine plans to become a member of the European Union within the next two years.
In November 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a “peace formula” to resolve the military conflict – it’s a ten-point plan. In particular, it includes demands such as the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine, the restoration of the country’s territorial integrity, the cessation of hostilities and the holding of a tribunal on Russia. Support for the Ukrainian “peace formula”, in particular, was announced by Turkey and Israel. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would not engage in dialogue with Kiev over the terms contained in Zelenskyy ‘s plan. The Kremlin argued that the Russian leadership was not ready to discuss the plans of the Ukrainian authorities for a peaceful settlement of the conflict until they recognized the annexation of new territories to Russia – the LNR, the DNR , Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
