The refusal of European countries to lift the sanctions imposed on Russia because of its offensive against Ukraine testifies to their lack of desire to opt for a peaceful resolution, accused the Kremlin, quoted by AFP on Friday. “If European countries do not want to follow this path, it means that they do not want to follow the path of peace”told journalists Dmitri Peskov, spokesperson for the Russian presidency. According to him, the lifting of the sanctions that weigh on the Russian economy is a “An integral part of the Black Sea Agreement”.
On Tuesday, after negotiations carried out in Saudi Arabia under American mediation, the White House had indeed announced an agreement with a view to a ceasefire in the Black Sea, where clashes have been limited for several months. In return, Moscow had immediately required the abolition of many restrictions weighing on its agricultural exports.
A request swept by European countries at a meeting in Paris, in the presence of Volodymyr Zelensky. kyiv’s allies are considering reinforcing them, on the contrary, in order to increase pressure on Russia and forcing it to negotiate real peace. “It makes no sense to put an end to the sanctions as long as peace is not really restored, and we are unfortunately still far”estimated the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
A “transitional administration” for Ukraine?
The White House had also announced that kyiv and Moscow were committed to taking “Measures for implementation (…) of the agreement on the ban on strikes against energy facilities » of the two countries. However, no specific date or condition has been mentioned and, since then, Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of having led several strikes against these infrastructure.
Dmitri Peskov said on Friday that Ukrainian attacks “Continue daily”. He suggested that certain units of the Ukrainian army “Do not listen to the orders of the country’s authorities” Regarding the cessation of strikes. If ” For now ” Russia respects this commitment, he warned that Moscow reserves the right to end it if “The kyiv regime” does not respect it – thus taking up the pejorative terminology used by Russian leaders with regard to the Ukrainian authorities. For its part, the Ukrainian energy operator Naftogaz accused Russia this Friday of having struck its gas infrastructure, in violation of the agreement announced by Washington – which seems very fragile …
Always this Friday, Vladimir Putin spoke of the idea of a “Transitional administration” For Ukraine, under the aegis of the UN – an option that would involve the departure of its Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky – before any negotiation on a peace agreement. The Russian assault against Ukraine, in addition to having made tens of thousands of deaths and wounded, has caused massive destruction since 2022, notably ravaging the country’s energy network and plunging into the dark and cold of millions of its citizens.
kyiv also announced, on March 28, having recovered the bodies of 909 Ukrainian soldiers killed in combat, as part of the most important exchange of this type since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. The exchange of the remains of soldiers and prisoners of war remains one of the rare areas of cooperation between Moscow and kyiv.
