German newspaper reveals: Peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia was ready for signing

This is written by the German newspaper Die Welt.

The agreement, which was supposed to end Russia’s war of aggression, is said to have been negotiated by delegations empowered to find and conclude a possible peace solution.

Putin demanded neutrality and troop reduction

Negotiations are said to have started already a few days after the invasion. The Kremlin is said to have tried early on to force the regime in Kyiv to capitulate, which Zelenskyj completely ruled out.

Read all about the war in Ukraine

According to the newspaper, Russia must have demanded absolute neutrality from Ukraine, and a limitation on the number of troops, weapons, equipment and aircraft in the armed forces in Ukraine. Putin’s negotiators are also said to have demanded that the already occupied areas should belong to Russia.

Summit never materialized

The terms for ending the war are said to have consisted of a 17-page draft agreement, which the parties agreed on on 15 April 2022.

One of the main prerequisites for the peace agreement to be approved by both countries, and then to enter into force, was for Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyj to meet. But the summit never took place. Zelenskyy has stated several times that he cannot make peace or negotiate directly with Putin.

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Among the points that Ukraine opposed was the Russian demand for absolute neutrality, and promises not to enter into alliances with, for example, NATO.

Guarantee of foreign troops

According to the text of the agreement, Russia must have promised not to attack Ukraine again if the country agreed to never receive, produce or acquire nuclear weapons.

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In addition, Zelenskyi’s government had to agree to refrain from importing foreign weapons, deny Western forces access to military infrastructure, airports and ports, as well as to say no to joint military exercises with troops from foreign countries.

The condition Ukraine set for accepting the Russian demands was that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, i.e. the United States, Great Britain, France, China and Russia, could provide Ukraine with comprehensive security guarantees.

Required Russian as a second language

Negotiation delegations from Ukraine and Russia in Belarus on March 7, 2022: In the picture are, among others, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Tochytskyi, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, head of the Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs and head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky, Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin and Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko. Photo: Maxim Guchek / AFP

Moscow rejected Ukraine’s demand that the guarantor states could establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine in the event of an attack. During the talks, Russia is said to have said it was willing to partially withdraw from Ukraine, but to keep troops in Crimea and Donbas.

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According to Die Welt, Russia demanded that Ukraine make Russian the second state language, lift mutual sanctions and stop lawsuits in international courts.

However, the Kyiv regime refused to accept this. Russia also reportedly demanded that Ukraine ban fascism, Nazism and aggressive nationalism.

– It was the best deal we could have gotten

In retrospect, the draft agreement is considered to be favorable compared to the current strength and situation on the battlefield.

– It was the best deal we could have gotten. Looking back, we can say that Ukraine was in a stronger negotiating position then than now. If the war had ended about two months after it started, it would have saved countless lives, an anonymous source, who was part of the Ukrainian peace delegation in April 2022, was quoted as saying.