Ukraine's chief negotiator says Russia must withdraw from Ukraine before starting talks

Lawmaker David Arakhamia, head of the governing Servant of the People faction and Ukraine's chief negotiator with Russia, said Kyiv is ready to provide Russia with security guarantees after it withdraws its troops from Ukraine, pays reparations, brings all war criminals to justice, and voluntarily surrenders nuclear weapons.

When Russia does that, “we are ready to sit at the negotiating table and talk about security guarantees,” Arakhamia said.

Earlier on Dec. 3, French President Emmanuel Macron said if Russian President Vladimir Putin agrees to negotiations ending the war, the West should consider giving Russia guarantees in the future security architecture.

Europe needs to prepare “how to give guarantees to Russia the day it returns to the negotiating table,” Macron claimed.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 16 that Western countries had given “signals” that Putin sought direct talks with Ukraine.

The next day, Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia would continue its war against Ukraine because of Ukraine’s "unwillingness to negotiate."

The Institute for the Study of War said on Dec. 2 that Russia would benefit from negotiations with Ukraine and Western countries that include a ceasefire, allowing it to prepare its military for further offensives against Ukraine.