MOSCOW (Realist English). Russia stands for an early diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian issue, but not at the expense of its security, Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Alexander Venediktov said in an interview with TASS.
“We are grateful to Turkey for the efforts that President Erdoğan is personally making to resolve the conflict peacefully. Russia is also a supporter of an early diplomatic solution to the problem. Unlike some other states, we do not want to solve everything by force, do not call for the destruction of the enemy, do not seek to “tear him to shreds.” No, we want to peacefully coexist not only with Ukraine, but also with the whole of Europe,” he stressed.
According to him, the goals stated at the beginning of the special operation on the territory of the former Ukraine have not fundamentally changed:
“Of course, they transform over time, and, for example, the arrangements that were reached in Istanbul and could have been approved by us in principle, are not relevant at the current stage. Now it is difficult to say which tasks will be a priority in the case of negotiations between the presidents, because we do not see any desire on the part of Kiev to conduct any negotiations at all. For our part, we are ready for negotiations.”
On February 24, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin announced the start of the special military operation of the Russian Armed Forces in the Ukraine. Its goals were called “demilitarization and denazification of the Ukraine.”
