A peace deal that could have removed the specter of conflict or war was apparently reached by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy with Kyiv before the start of the Russian military operation, but the latter publicly rejected it on February 24, sparking conflict. . According to what the sources revealed, close to the Russian leadership.
The sources claimed that Putin refused to sign a proposed Kyiv peace agreement that would have guaranteed it would remain outside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
And three sources close to Russia’s leadership reported that Russian envoy Dmitry Kozak told Putin that he believed the deal brokered by him eliminated Moscow’s need to launch military operations in the western neighbor’s territory.
But despite his previous support for negotiations, Putin made it clear when presenting the Kozak agreement that the concessions negotiated by his aide were not enough, and according to these sources, he has expanded his goals to annex parts of Ukrainian territory. led to the collapse of the deal.
Two of the three sources said the effort to complete the agreement came immediately after the Russian military operation on February 24.
The sources also noted that Kozak believed he had Ukraine’s agreement to the main terms Russia sought within days and advised Putin to sign an agreement.
As for the details of what happened, sources revealed that after February 24th, Kozak received a white card, they gave him the green light and he made the deal.
However, when he returned it, he was asked to cancel the whole thing, and one source close to the Russian leadership said that “Putin simply changed the plan.”
On the other hand, a third source briefed on the talks between Kozak and Putin disputed the timing, saying that Kozak proposed the deal to Putin and closed it immediately before the operation. rejected
For his part, Mykhailo Podolak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, believes that Russia is using the talks as a smoke screen to prepare for war, but he did not answer questions about the nature of the talks and did not confirm that a preliminary agreement had been reached. it is arrived.
He said: We clearly understand that the Russian side has never been interested in reaching a peaceful solution.
Cusack, 63, has been Putin’s loyal lieutenant since working with Putin in the 1990s in the St. Petersburg mayor’s office.
The 60-year-old Ukrainian-born man was also considered well-suited to negotiate a peace deal because, since 2020, Putin has tasked him with talking to his Ukrainian counterparts about the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, which was occupied by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine. to talk 2014.
Six months after the start of the military operation, the man remains the Kremlin’s deputy chief of staff, but six sources who spoke to Reuters confirmed that he is no longer involved in the Ukraine case.
Source: Lebanon Debate
