NEW DELHI: Russian envoy to India Denis Alipov on Wednesday said though there was not much ground for negotiation, Moscow is prepared to sit and talk with Kyiv, provided there is an “acceptable basis” for it. Alipov pointed to the completion of Ukraine President’s tenure saying he is “very much unelected.”
The basis should include the “ground realities”, interests of Russia from the security point of view and protection of Russians within Ukraine and Ukrainian citizens of Russian origin, he said.
Making his remarks during a roundtable discussion here, he was asked if Russia would be willing to sit across the table and talk with Ukraine to seek a resolution of the conflict. “Frankly... don’t see much ground for negotiations at the moment,” said the envoy.
“The basis could be whether it will be Volodymyr Zelenskky or some other person. This is a question, which I would not address at the moment,” said Alipov.
Zelenskyy was elected as the President of Ukraine on April 21, 2019. The President of Ukraine is elected by the citizens based on universal, equal and direct suffrage by means of secret ballot for five years, according to the official website of the President of Ukraine.
“There are no provisions in the Ukrainian Constitution for a president to proceed without an election,” Alipov claimed.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which began in February 2022, entered its 1,000th day on Tuesday. Responding to a query, Alipov said, “I believe BRICS is very much capable of becoming a major platform for conflict resolution.”
BRICS capable
The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which began in February 2022, entered its 1,000th day on Tuesday. Responding to a query, Russia envoy to India Denis Alipov said, “I believe BRICS is very much capable of becoming a major platform for conflict resolution.” Among the speakers was former Indian foreign secretary of India Kanwal Sibal who talked about the “narrative” associated with the Ukraine conflict, saying that it was drawn largely from the Western press.