Situation should return to state of February 23, 2022, then negotiations can begin - Yermak

A return to the state of February 23, 2022 could lead to the start of negotiations between Ukraine and russia on a ceasefire and an end to the war.

The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andrii Yermak, wrote about this on the website of the Dagens Industri publication.

According to Yermak, a vital task for the world community, which we must advocate for today, is to end the war in Ukraine and return peace to the European continent.

This can be achieved on the basis of the plan presented by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this year.

Yermak recalled that Zelenskyy’s plan consists of the following five points:

• an invitation to Ukraine to join NATO;
• increasing military support without restrictions on the use of weapons;
• providing the Ukrainian army with a non-nuclear deterrent package;
• providing access to Ukraine’s critically important raw materials for its partners;
• replacing US military contingents in Europe with units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

The head of the President's Office emphasized that the implementation of the first three points of Zelenskyy's plan would allow Ukraine to be in a strong and advantageous negotiating position.

He believes that sending Ukraine an invitation to join NATO would not entail any obligations for the alliance's allies in accordance with Article 5 of the organization's charter.

Yermak noted that a number of states have also offered their peace initiatives to end the war. But they do not contain ironclad guarantees for Ukraine that after the ceasefire russia will not launch a new attack.

"Fruitful negotiations are possible only when all warring parties have a desire to stop fighting. In addition, it is necessary to return the situation at least to the state of February 23, 2022," Yermak wrote.

According to him, this date was indicated for a reason, because as of February 23, 2022, the country's territory was already occupied by russia. Returning the situation to this date could be a starting point for further settlement.

But, Yermak noted, russia does not show interest in a ceasefire and the start of negotiations. This is evidenced by the North Korean army contingent deployed near the border with Ukraine, as well as the recent strike with an intercontinental ballistic missile.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, according to a survey conducted by the Social Rating Center, two-thirds of Ukrainians want to start negotiations on a ceasefire. At the same time, almost 60% of those surveyed do not believe that victory in the war should be reaching the 1991 borders.

Recall, earlier in November, The Washington Post wrote that European leaders have increasingly begun to discuss the end of the war with a scenario where Ukraine gives up part of its territories.

We also wrote that, according to a number of Ukrainian officials cited by The Economist, the first day of the ceasefire could be January 20, 2025 - the day of the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.