"Of course, Ukrainians will not be able to return the territory already seized by Russia. Russia is toostrong.But theprice of further offensive for Russia has already grown, and it will grow even more, and if this is so, then those who are in Moscow should ask themselves: what do we get from this?We bear losses, the deaths of Russian soldiers who are dying in Ukraine, and all this for what?"- Kurt Volker noted in the television story, which was published on its page by the BBC Ukrainian Service on May 17.
At a briefing in Slavyansk on May 15, Volcker said that "the UN mechanism will be useful if Russia really wants to resolve this conflict."
A statement of fact and a hint for the Ukrainian side
The expert on international security of the Ukrainian Independent Center for Political StudiesVitalii Martyniukbelieves that the American diplomat gave a clear assessment and statement of the fact of the war between Ukraine and Russia.
"There is a war between Ukraine and Russia, and not a fictitious internal conflict.And theparty of the conflict in this war is Russia, and not Donetsk or Lugansk.Isee that this was sounded in this statement," Vitalii Martyniuk told the Russian service of the Voice of America.
At the same time, the situation inside Ukraine is another challenge that does not allow us today to talk about the possibility of returning the occupied territories.
"Although we already have an efficient army that can deter Russian aggression in the east of the country, it is not so well equipped and reformed as the challenges that the country faces require it. Ukraine needs to work hard to form the security and defense sectors. The United States has confirmed its desire to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with weapons, re-equip them, increase their potential," Vitalii Martyniuk said.
Within the framework of the negotiation process for the introduction of peacekeepers, the United States and Ukraine, he said, did not receive replies or constructive proposals from Moscow.
"Proposals at the current stage were made by Kurt Volker during his last meeting with Vladislav Surkov, but there were no clear answers. However, over the past months, we have seen that Russia continues to say that such a peacekeeping mission can only be on the line of demarcation and ensuring the security of the OSCE mission, and this is unacceptable for Ukraine," Vitalii Martyniuk says.
He believes that the world community has approached the stage when "in the UN decision-making system" it is necessary to clearly record the positions of the parties - who is a party to the conflict in the Donbass.
"If it is unambiguously recorded that Russia is a party to the conflict, then obviously there will be an understanding that it is an interested party, and as an interested party opposes the Ukrainian scenario of the introduction of peacekeepers into the occupied territory, is not for the settlement of the conflict, but for its continuation", Vitalii Martyniuk emphasizes.
