Latest news with #MinskAccords
Russia Today
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
The West waging ‘centuries-old war' against Moscow – Russia's top UN diplomat
Western nations are using Ukraine as their proxy in a longstanding confrontation with Russia that is deeply rooted in history, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia told RT's Rick Sanchez. In an interview on The Sanchez Effect aired on Friday, the diplomat argued that the conflict 'should be seen in a larger context.' 'They do not care about Ukraine. This is not a war between Russia and Ukraine,' Nebenzia said. 'Ukraine is a proxy in this war. This is a centuries-old war of the West against Russia, starting with the Polish invasion in the 17th century,' he added. As examples of earlier confrontations, Nebenzia cited Napoleon's invasion of Russia, the 1854–1856 Crimean War, Western military intervention during the Russian Civil War, and the invasion by Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II. He emphasized that Hitler's army included not only Germans, but also units drawn from allied countries and occupied territories. The Ukrainians and 'their sponsors' in the West sabotaged the 2014–2015 Minsk accords, which were aimed at ending the conflict between Kiev and the breakaway Donbass republics, the Russian diplomat said. Former French President Francois Hollande and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel later admitted the agreement was used by Kiev to buy time and rearm, Nebenzia stated. 'We are not going [to fall] into the same trap once again,' he said. He added that politicians like former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson similarly helped derail the 2022 peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine's European backers were forced to adjust their position, Nebenzia argued, after US President Donald Trump launched efforts to broker peace and Ukrainian troops began losing more ground. 'They changed their rhetoric from 'We should inflict strategic defeat on Russia' to 'Russia should not win in this war.' Now they are advocating for a full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire, which is testimony that they want to shield and protect their proxy, as they are obviously losing on the battlefield,' he said. At the same time, Nebenzia noted that the resumption of direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations earlier this year provides hope that the conflict could be resolved soon.
AllAfrica
10-05-2025
- Business
- AllAfrica
Hardening lines signal Ukraine peace process collapse
US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance's latest comments on talks with Russia show that the US's negotiating stance has toughened. The first comment echoed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by calling for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire and threatened to impose sanctions if it's violated. The second revealed that Russia's demand for Ukraine to withdraw from the entirety of the disputed regions is 'asking for too much.' Together, they confirm growing US impatience with the Ukraine peace process, which began in late March. Back then, Trump threatened to impose strictly enforced secondary sanctions against those who purchase Russia's oil if he determined the transactions are responsible for the peace talks' potential failure. One month later, he speculated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is 'just tapping me along', during which time he reaffirmed the secondary sanctions threat. Shortly after, the US and Ukraine signed their long-awaited minerals deal, which this analysis here correctly predicted would be followed by more American weapons packages. Although it was planned far in advance of said developments, Putin's latest meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow arguably took the form of Russia's response considering the two spent a whopping seven hours together in talks. It was foreseen before their meeting that 'Putin & Xi Might Hash Out A Grand Deal That Would Enter Into Force If The Ukraine Talks Collapse', which appears to have been exactly what happened and could have provoked Trump's latest post. The US already knows that Russia is against an unconditional 30-day ceasefire because it rightly fears, per the precedent of prior ceasefires during the Minsk Accords era, that this could be exploited to give Ukraine time to rotate its troops and rearm ahead of reinitiating hostilities. It's also important for Russia to obtain full control over the entirety of the disputed regions as part of a peace deal in order to fully incorporate and 'denazify' those territories that it now considers to be its own. Vance's comments make it clear that the US considers this to be 'asking too much' and therefore won't coerce Ukraine into withdrawing from them, thus suggesting that Trump's subsequent call for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire is meant to indefinitely freeze the Line of Contact against Russia's wishes. Threatening strictly enforced secondary sanctions for lack of compliance, presumably against those who purchase Russia's oil is meant to simultaneously pressure Putin and his country's top oil clients, including China. Trump's disclosure that he discussed joint efforts to end the Ukrainian conflict in his latest call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his recent remark about how 'I think it's a natural thing to ask' China to assist with this suggest that he envisages Erdogan and Xi pressuring Putin. They would be incentivized to do so for fear of the US enforcing Trump's threatened secondary sanctions against their countries if they refuse or fail after trying. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi could be roped into this, too, since India is another top buyer of Russian oil. Unless there's a breakthrough, such as Russia steamrolling across the Line of Contact or conceding to freeze it in exchange for something significant from the US (which the public might not be privy to), this sequence of events suggests that the peace process might soon collapse. The US is preparing for that scenario by signaling why it might happen from its perspective and hinting at what it'll do in that case (i.e. more anti-Russian sanctions and arms for Ukraine) so its proxy war with Russia might soon escalate. This article was first published on Andrew Korybko's Substack and is republished with kind permission. Become an Andrew Korybko Newsletter subscriber here.
Russia Today
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Macron should apologize
French President Emmanuel Macron should apologize for making 'misleading' claims about the origins of the Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has told RT. In particular, Zakharova criticized Macron for alleging that Russia was to blame for the failure of the Minsk Accords. The agreements were brokered in 2014 and 2015 to halt fighting between Ukraine and the now-Russian Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, with France and Germany as guarantors. They were ultimately not implemented, and Moscow later accused Kiev and the West of using them to strengthen Ukraine's military instead of securing peace. In a televised address on Wednesday, Macron, however, blamed Russia of violating the accords and cited them as proof that the West 'can no longer take Russia at its word' when it comes to resolving the conflict. 'We cannot forget that Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and that we negotiated a ceasefire in Minsk at that time. And Russia did not respect this ceasefire,' the French president alleged, claiming that Moscow poses a direct threat to France and the entire EU. Zakharova condemned Macron's comments as 'aggressive and destructive' and pointed out that former French President François Hollande and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel have 'openly confessed, and not under torture or pressure' back in 2022 they never intended to enforce the accords. 'Macron should invite his predecessor… Hollande, to the Élysée Palace to have a heart-to-heart talk with him… Then he'll probably hear from Hollande... that he had no intention of implementing the Minsk agreements while representing France,' Zakharova stated, suggesting that after speaking to Hollande, Macron would 'have to apologize to his own population for misleading them.' Macron has been a vocal advocate of strengthening Europe's defenses against Russia and reiterated this position in his latest address. Moscow, however, has repeatedly denied having any plans to attack either the EU or NATO, with President Vladimir Putin dismissing such speculation as 'nonsense' on multiple occasions.
