The Russian proposal implies the recognition of all Ukrainian territory as Russian territory and the adoption of the reunification act with the Russian Federation.
The Vice President of the Russian Security Council and former Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, presented on Thursday the details of the so-called “Russian Peace Formula” to end the invasion of Ukraine, which would require unconditional surrender from Kyiv, payment of all compensations owed to Russia, and the annexation of all Ukrainian territory in exchange for the Kremlin ending hostilities.
“We see no desire to negotiate from the so-called former Ukraine. At least on the basis of recognizing realities, as (Russian President, Vladimir) Putin said yesterday,” noted Medvedev in a text published on his Telegram channel. According to the official, Ukraine only recognizes a “brain-dead” peace formula, suggested by “a provincial clown in green tights.”
“It seems so artificial that the only way out is to build our own formula, Russian, calm, and quite realistic. Human for all,” continued Medvedev, one of President Vladimir Putin’s staunchest allies who served as President of Russia from 2008 to 2012.
The peace formula proposed by Medvedev, a hawk who, according to diplomats, gives an idea of what is being thought in the Kremlin, envisages Ukraine admitting defeat in the conflict and surrendering unconditionally.
The Russian proposal also implies the recognition of all Ukrainian territory as Russian territory and the adoption of the reunification act with the Russian Federation, as well as the recognition of this act in the United Nations.
Another condition detailed by Medvedev is the loss of Ukraine’s global legal personality and the prohibition of joining military alliances without the consent of the Russian Federation.
Furthermore, a provisional parliament should be introduced in Ukraine when the country is defeated. Specifically, Medvedev suggested “the resignation of all constitutional authorities ‘of the former ‘Ukraine’ and the immediate holding of elections to the provisional Parliament of the self-governing territory under the auspices of the United Nations.”
The Provisional Parliament of Ukraine will have to pass a law establishing a compensation procedure for the damages caused to the regions of Russia, as well as to the injured citizens and families of the deceased Russians.
“This could be Russia’s soft peace formula. It’s a compromise, right? I think based on it, we can seek benevolent consensus with the international community, including the Anglo-Saxon world, to hold productive summits, counting on the mutual understanding of our close friends: Western partners,” Medvedev concluded.
In a sign of Kremlin’s intentions, on March 4th, Medvedev spoke in front of a giant map of Ukraine depicting the country as a much smaller landmass without access to the sea than its internationally recognized territory.
The map seemed to describe a scenario in which Ukraine would be squeezed against Poland, with Kyiv as the capital, but Russia would control a strip of Ukrainian cities, as well as the east, south, and the entire coast of the Black Sea.
Russia has the initiative on the battlefield and controls just under a fifth of Ukrainian territory, which it claims as its own. But it is far from conquering more territory and achieving the surrender of Kyiv, which in turn attacks more and more Russian regions. Moscow thought the assault on Ukraine would last a few days or maybe weeks, and it has just turned two years old.
There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv to Medvedev’s new statements. Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly accused the former president and other senior Russian officials of waging an illegal war of conquest and have stated that Ukraine and its people are distinct from Russia and the Russians.
