Ukrainian deputy PM reveals Moscow asked to resume negotiations but Kyiv refused

Officials in Moscow allegedly asked to resume negotiations but Kyiv turned them down, according to the Ukrainian deputy PM.

In an interview with France 24 English, Olga Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration claimed that officials in Moscow had asked to resume negotiations with Kyiv, but that the latter refused.

This comes after an incredibly successful counteroffensive over the past weekend by Ukrainian forces. Stefanishyna claimed that this sudden advance of Ukrainian forces towards the Russian border had prompted the offer.

A lightning attack across a huge swathe of the Russian lines saw their troops giving up in several regions without a fight, while in others, they retreated, leaving all of their military hardware behind.

However, as the deputy PM pointed to Marc Perelman from France 24 English, Ukraine suddenly has more leverage, and Kyiv will only start negotiations after it has achieved its military goals. She said it was pretty clear that Moscow was only offering to enter into talks again as a way of slowing the Ukrainian push.

She did admit though that Ukraine was bracing itself, “for the worst-case scenario”, in terms of Russian retaliation. Her military had not yet been taken by surprise though she added.

Stefanishyna said she was convinced that the temporarily occupied Donbas and the annexed Crimea will return to the control of Ukraine. European leaders should also introduce additional sanctions against Moscow the minister said, suggesting that Russia has a weakness when it comes to the supply of gas and energy in general to Europe and that these sectors should be targeted.

Watch the full interview with Olga Stefanishyna here, courtesy of the FRANCE 24 English Twitter profile:

???????? “Russians are killing themselves and Ukrainian forces are helping them with that.”

For @StefanishynaO, the sanctions and the war against Ukraine are exhausting #Russia. Watch the full interview with @mperelman on our website ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/rkl3jcuQ0c

— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) September 13, 2022

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