“Ukraine cannot implement a scenario that envisages freezing the front line or handing over the remaining territories of Donbas to Russia in exchange for Western security guarantees and NATO membership.”
Globalinfo.az reports that this was stated by former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko in an interview with “24 Kanal”.
According to him, there is no legal mechanism for handing over the territories to Russia:
“At present, there is no mechanism for handing over Donbas to Russia. Because during a war, it is not possible to amend the Constitution or hold a referendum. No one in Ukraine, including Volodymyr Zelensky, has the legal grounds to make such a decision.”
He also noted that organizing a referendum takes a long time, and under the current circumstances, with shelling continuing, it is impossible to carry it out.
In addition, Ohryzko stressed that Washington is against Ukraine’s admission to NATO.
Therefore, Kyiv cannot trust this promise.
It should be noted that on October 21, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv could agree to freeze the conflict along the front line on condition that 75 percent of the country’s former territory is preserved. He also noted the necessity of holding a referendum on a peace agreement with Russia.
Later, Zelensky said on “The Diary Of A CEO” podcast that handing over the remaining territories of Donbas to Russia could cause Ukraine to lose control over a large number of cities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his part, called Zelensky’s remarks “inappropriate” on October 22 and stressed that the territories of Donbas have historically belonged to Russia.
Aliyar Khalil
Globalinfo.az
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