“Red lines” needed in peace talks on Ukraine – PACE President

Red lines should be established during possible negotiations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

Theodoros Rousopoulos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), stated this in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.

As the PACE President recalled, at the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukraine and Russia were already holding certain negotiations. Still, now the question is what exactly "peace" will mean.

If the war concludes without changes to the current situation and the temporarily occupied territories become part of the occupying country, this outcome would not constitute a peace that should be supported.

"Of course, peace negotiation is something good in general, and one will tell you: if we don't have negotiations, how shall we know the results of this negotiation? So in principle, yes, but we have to put our limits, the red lines as they say, to what this peace is for," he added.

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Following his inauguration, US President Donald Trump urged dictator Vladimir Putin to engage in negotiations to end the full-scale war, warning that he would implement strict measures to compel Moscow if necessary.

In turn, on January 24, the head of the Kremlin announced that Russia was ready for negotiations on the war in Ukraine. At the same time, the Russian dictator complained that Kyiv allegedly had a ban on talks with the Russian Federation.

Moreover, on January 29, Putin said that he was ready to "allocate people" for negotiations with Ukraine to end the war but called the negotiations themselves "illegitimate."

In response, Zelensky said that with such statements, Putin only confirmed that he was afraid of negotiations and was trying to drag out the war. According to the head of state, Russia is doing everything to either continue a full-scale invasion instead of real peace or to get a pause to prepare for a new aggression.

ISW suggests that the Russian dictator's statements about the illegitimacy of the Ukrainian government and possible peace agreements may be a tool to justify their violation. The Kremlin is manipulating Ukrainian legislation, creating the basis for ignoring future agreements.