Oleh Nikolenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, said on Nov. 14 that Russia is not in a position to dictate terms of peace talks. The statement was made in response to Russia’s claims that it wouldn’t meet Ukrainian demand to withdraw its forces from Ukrainian territories to start negotiations.
“Ukraine’s peace formula remains unchanged: an immediate end to the war, the withdrawal of all Russian troops, the restoration of Ukrainian territorial integrity, compensation for the damages, and the provision of effective guarantees of non-repetition of aggression. Under other conditions, it will be impossible to achieve lasting peace,” Nikolenko said.
Earlier on Nov. 14, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Alexander Grushko said that Moscow wouldn’t accept Ukrainian preconditions for resuming negotiations, in particular, the withdrawal of the Russian forces from Ukraine, according to Russian state-controlled news outlet RIA Novosti.
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