Ukraine’s Presidential Administration has declared the inadmissibility of compromises with the Russian Federation in terms of aggression on its part, on which businessman Viktor Pinchuk called in his article in the British edition the Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal published an official response of the Presidential Administration (PA) of Ukraine, signed by PA deputy head Kostiantyn Yeliseyev, to Pinchuk’s article. The PA’s position is published under the title “Respect for Ukraine Vital for a Lasting Peace,” the Internet news service Yevropeiska Pravda (European Truth) said on Thursday.
Yeliseyev strongly denies the possibility of a compromise on the key points proposed by Pinchuk. “I cannot agree with the appeal for compromises based on worries. Fear and weakness are bad advisers. They play into Russia’s appetites, invite even more aggression and greater human suffering,” he said.
The article lists three key positions of Ukraine: “No reversal in European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine. This would be a surrender of independence, sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine. No trade in the territory of Ukraine, be it Donbas or Crimea. These territories cannot be part of a trade-off for peace. No elections in Donbas with Russian (military) boots on Ukraine’s soil,” Yeliseyev wrote in his response to Pinchuk’s suggestion.
According to him, “compromises on Russia’s terms are the wrong policy.”
As reported, in an article for The Wall Street Journal, published late last year, Pinchuk proposed to the authorities and the citizens of Ukraine to make a number of “painful compromises” for the sake of finishing the conflict with Russia. Among the initiatives voiced by the businessman, were the following: temporary exclusion of stated goals of the country’s membership in the EU, refusal of the intention to join NATO in the short and medium term and country’s agreement to neutrality.
He also insists on the stance that “Crimea must not get in the way of a deal that ends the war in the east on an equitable basis” while maintaining the position that Crimea is a part of Ukraine, and it must be returned. Furthermore, Pinchuk suggested that Ukraine should agree to the holding of local elections in separate districts of Donbas until Ukraine has full control over its territory in order “to demonstrate Ukraine’s commitment to peaceful reunification.”
One more Pinchuk proposal was the consent of Ukraine to the gradual lifting of the sanctions from Russia.
