State Duma assesses reports on Ukraine's readiness for talks

State Duma deputy Oleksiy Chepa has said that reports about Ukraine 's possible readiness for negotiations with Russia could be a positive signal. Meanwhile, Russia will in any case stand on its key positions in future agreements.

In a conversation with Lenta.Ru on Thursday, December 5, the parliamentarian noted that the purpose of the meeting between the head of the Ukrainian president's office, Andriy Yermak, and representatives of US President-elect Donald Trump's team was to demonstrate the future policy of the United States regarding what is happening in Ukraine. Chepa pointed out that Ukraine had certain misunderstandings with Trump's team and other NATO members, but in any case, it heard that the supplies that Joe Biden promised would be realized, but could be further stopped.

As the parliamentarian noted, Ukraine has been made to understand that the issue of NATO membership will not be decided in its favor. In addition, the USA has demonstrated its desire to enter negotiations with Russia sooner. According to the MP, the negotiations will start in the near future. He emphasized that for this purpose it is necessary to develop clear positions.

"One of the main ones is Ukraine's membership in NATO. The US special envoy for Ukraine proposed to suspend the issue of this for 10 years. Of course, it would be more correct for us to permanently refuse Ukraine's accession to the alliance, but there is no such thing as 'forever' in politics," Chepa noted.

According to him, it is unknown whether the North Atlantic alliance will last another 10 years.

Continued exploring: the Kremlin sees no grounds for negotiations with Kiev

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Earlier, on December 5, The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that due to exhaustion from the conflict, Kiev intends to declare readiness for peace in the near future. It is also noted that the Ukrainian authorities intend to seek sustainable peace, rather than a temporary truce, writes NSN.

On December 4, the Bloomberg agency reported that NATO wants to get Kiev to start negotiations on a ceasefire. According to a senior NATO diplomat quoted by the publication, one of the possible options for a ceasefire is the creation of a demilitarized zone, on the territory of which any military action will be prohibited. The agency's sources emphasized that NATO understands that the negotiation process should start in the near future, kp.ru website said. At the same time, the issue of Ukraine's membership in NATO is not on the agenda in the short term, RT wrote.

On the same day, Reuters wrote that US President-elect Donald Trump's team has three plans to settle the Ukrainian conflict. According to the source, they were put forward by future special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, former Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell and future US Vice President J.D. Vance, 360.ru reported.

On November 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term in office expired on May 20, said in an interview with British television channel Sky News that he might agree to a ceasefire and giving up some territories in exchange for Ukraine's NATO membership.

After Zelensky's statement on 29 November, former US congressman and Florida Republican Matt Gaetz said that Ukraine's admission to NATO would be a terrible idea.