Ukrainian President's New Chief Of Staff Says Room For Compromise With Russia
KYIV — The new head of Ukraine’s presidential administration has signaled there is room for compromise in talks on ending the war with Russia-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country, a day after Moscow replaced a hard-line point man on the issue with a Ukrainian-born official in the Kremlin.
Andriy Yermak told reporters in Kyiv on February 12, a day after his appointment, that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s team will continue to work on stopping the war in eastern Ukraine, where some areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, known as the Donbas, have been under the separatists’ control since April 2014.
“There can certainly be compromises during the negotiations,” Yermak said. “But we have talked about this many times, and I also want to add that I am ready and will continue to do this: speak with all patriotic, competent, reasonable forces in this country.”
Yermak’s appointment raised some eyebrows in Ukraine from those who fear he may soften Kyiv’s position toward Russia, especially amid the current thaw in relations that included major prisoner swaps late last year that Yermak was involved with in his role as an aide to Zelenskiy.
Looking to allay those concerns, the 48-year-old former film producer and lawyer stressed at the news conference that Crimea, which was forcefully seized and annexed by Russia in March 2014, and the Donbas were “Ukrainian territories” and that elections in the areas controlled by the separatists scheduled for October “must be held under Ukrainian legislation.”
He also didn’t rule out the possibility that Zelenskiy might meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, but added that a decision on that would be made by the president himself.
“If [Zelenskiy] considers such a meeting [with Putin] necessary, that it may be a step to achieve real results in the Normandy peace-format summit, then we do not rule out a [Zelenskiy-Putin] meeting,” Yermak said.
Even before his appointment on February 11, Yermak’s name was sprinkled throughout the media after he was linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani.
Evidence and testimony gathered during Trump’s recent impeachment hearing shows Giuliani met with Yermak to “strongly” urge an investigation Trump wanted of Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son’s ties to Ukrainian energy firm Burisma.
The Democratic-led House of Representatives impeached Trump in December for allegedly withholding security assistance for Ukraine to force an investigation, only the third such hearing against a president in the country’s history.
Yermak took only five questions at the news conference, and none of them were related to the impeachment case or Giuliani.
He did comment, however, on the appointment of Dmitry Kozak, the deputy head of the Russian presidential administration, to handle relations with Kyiv, sidelining hard-liner Vladislav Surkov.
“I have not spoken to Mr. Kozak since his appointment and my appointment,” Yermak said.
“But regardless of who represents the Russian Federation in the negotiations in Minsk or in the Normandy format, the principles declared by President Zelenskiy are unchanged,” he added.
(c) RFERL
“There can certainly be compromises during the negotiations,” Yermak said.
No compromises whatsoever. You don’t negotiate or compromise to terrorists who invaded the country and annexed a large part of it. You definitely don’t compromise with a country that is responsible for the destruction of Donbas, and the deaths of 13,000 Ukrainians. Ukraine did not invade Russia!
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Any talk of a compromise recognizing the Crimea as Russian for peace and control of the Donbas will give Vladolf exactly what he intended in 2014. The invasion of the Donbas was just a distraction to change the headlines from Russia stole the Crimea to Ukrainians died fighting Separatists.
Similarly in Georgia with the invasion of South Ossetia. It started as a distraction so the Moskali could keep Abkhazia. Vladolf didn’t want any decent, freedom-loving democrats anywhere near his winter palace in Sochi.
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There must be a compromise. Better Ukraine will survive and prosper as Nato member without the Crimea, than Ukraine will go down still claiming it.
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You think NATO will let Ukraine join? I don’t, they are full of shit too. You only needed to listen to the waffle coming out of Stoltenberg yesterday to realise NATO membership is way over the horizon.
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Stoltenberg is not Nato, he’s KGB. His successor may have more courage.
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You never know, Trump might grow a pair and tell Putin, either return Crimea, or Ukraine will be part of NATO from tomorrow.
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Unlikely. More likely is a swap – Crimea for Donbas. Which would include Ukraine’s Nato membership and cutting off all ties with Moscow forever. But the french and krauts won’t like it…
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Kick them out of NATO, let the Germans fight Russia with their brushes.
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Kremlin: we are ready to put the Russian suspects of MH17 to trial inside Russia, Breaking news!
The Netherlands refused it politely.
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😂😂😂
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Crazy Russain way to admit they downed it, but never late, than never!
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Where did you see this?
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There cannot be any compromises with a crime syndicate. Once you start, you lose!
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