Russia and Ukraine could reach a peace agreement a few weeks after the outbreak of hostilities, the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reports, citing a 17-page draft agreement between the countries. The publication published one page of this document on its website, as well as on its social networks.
The parties to the conflict reached an agreement by April 15, 2022 and were able to agree on the main provisions of the document, leaving only a few points open, journalists note.
According to them, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky were supposed to discuss them during a summit meeting.
As the publication notes, “hopes for an agreement were high, but the decisive step was never taken.”
“As Ukraine’s successes on the battlefield continue, Russia has even retreated from its maximum position. As a result, the discussions culminated in the first direct negotiations in Istanbul mediated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the end of March [2022 года]. Images from the meeting on the Bosphorus raised hopes around the world for a speedy conclusion ***** [боевых действий]. In fact, both parties then began to prepare a draft agreement,” writes Welt.
In accordance with the provisions of the document, Ukraine pledged to adhere to the “three non-nuclear principles”: not to accept, not to produce or to acquire nuclear weapons.
Article 1 of the treaty stipulated that the Ukrainian side undertakes to maintain “permanent neutrality” and will enshrine it in the country’s constitution. This would mean Kyiv’s refusal to join any military alliance, including NATO.
The German publication called the 13 subparagraphs of this article evidence that the concept of “neutrality” was defined quite broadly in the “peace” draft document.
Ukraine also had to commit not to allow foreign troops to use its military infrastructure and not to host international military exercises.
Russia, in turn, agreed that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (Great Britain, China, Russia, USA and France) were required to provide comprehensive security guarantees. Crimea and Sevastopol were not covered by these guarantees. Kyiv’s demand to clarify the status of the peninsula within 10-15 years, which was discussed in the Istanbul communiqué, was not reflected in the draft agreement.
The document did not specify which territories in the eastern part of Ukraine would be covered by this clause of the agreement. “According to Article 3 of the document, nothing prevented Kyiv from directly becoming a member of the EU,” the publication notes.
According to the author of the article, in Article 5 of the draft treaty, Russia and Ukraine agreed on a mechanism “reminiscent of the provision on NATO assistance.”
“In the event of an “armed attack on Ukraine,” the guarantor states pledged to support Kyiv in its right to self-defense, enshrined in the UN Charter, no later than three days. Such assistance could be provided through “joint actions” of all or individual guarantor countries,” the journalists point out.
According to Welt, Article 15 stated that the treaty must be ratified by each state whose representative signed it. The publication suggested that this was done at the request of the Ukrainian side to demonstrate Russia’s readiness to resort to a defense mechanism similar to NATO principles.
The material also states that one of the problems in this matter was the provision on the necessary consent of all guarantor states, which provided Russia with the opportunity to resort to the right of veto. Moscow also did not agree to provide the opportunity to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine in the event of an attack.
“Two Ukrainian negotiators independently confirmed this to Welt am Sonntag. The Ukrainian delegation denies this,” the publication said.
According to the author of the material, another issue discussed in the draft document was the reduction in the strength of Ukrainian troops. The Russian side put forward a demand to reduce the Ukrainian army to 85 thousand soldiers, as well as to reduce the number of tanks (to 342 units), fighters (102), warships (2), armored vehicles (1029), helicopters (35), artillery pieces (519), systems multiple rocket launchers with a maximum range of 40 km (96), mortars (147) and anti-tank missiles (333).
Kyiv, in turn, insisted on an army size of 250 thousand soldiers, and wanted to retain 800 tanks, 160 fighters, 8 warships, 2,400 armored vehicles, 144 helicopters, 1,900 artillery pieces, 600 multiple launch rocket systems with a range of up to 280 km, 1,080 mortars and 2,000 anti-tank missiles.
“But after a promising summit in Istanbul, Moscow put forward subsequent demands, which Kyiv did not agree to. They are marked in italics in the document. Russia demanded that Russian be made the second official language in Ukraine, that mutual sanctions be lifted, and that lawsuits in international courts be stopped. Kyiv should also legally prohibit “fascism, Nazism and aggressive nationalism,” the newspaper writes.
As the publication notes, Article 18 of the draft shows that the parties expected the presidents of the two countries to sign the agreement in April 2022.
Tags: Welt published draft Istanbul agreement Russia Ukraine
-
