Emboldened by the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russia believes more than ever that peace involves the amputation of Ukraine from its eastern and southern regions, spokeswoman for Russian diplomacy Maria Zakharova told France Presse, as quoted by Agerpres.

In a written interview published Wednesday by AFP and quoted by Agerpres, Maria Zakharova said Moscow was also counting on “neutrality status” for Ukraine, a way to rid it of NATO allies, an alliance the Kremlin sees as an existential threat.

However, we remind you that in March of last year, shortly after the beginning of the Russian invasion, the leadership in Kyiv demonstrated its readiness to accept the status of neutrality – with Western guarantees for its security. However, after Moscow refused to withdraw its troops from the territory of Ukraine, and Kyiv discovered mass murders committed by Russian troops in Buch and other areas, the peace talks failed.

Zakharova repeated the Kremlin’s official position that the Russian army attacked Ukraine on February 24, 2022, to protect Russia and Russian-speakers in Ukraine from Westerners.

“We will not allow the existence of an aggressive Nazi state near our borders, the territory of which is a source of danger for Russia and neighboring countries,” said a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Zakharova says that Russia is not to blame for the continuation of the war

Even if Russia is a belligerent state, it cannot be held responsible for the lack of a peace process, Zakharova said, according to Zakharova, according to whom “there is no political will for peace either in Kyiv or in the West.”

Maria Zakharova, a well-publicized social activist in Russia, categorically rejected the peace plan put forward by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi last year, which involves the withdrawal of Russian troops from the country, whose territory is occupied by almost 18% of Moscow’s forces.

Ukraine’s main claim, namely respect for its territorial integrity and sovereignty, “actually has nothing to do with peace,” the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation claims.

“This is actually a series of ultimatums to Russia to justify the continuation of hostilities,” she says. “Kyiv does not want to reckon with current realities and pursues the goal of our country capitulating with the help of the West,” Maria Zakharova claims.

Moscow once again declares the failure of Western sanctions

In an interview with AFP, Zakharova noted the “failure” of the sanctions policy against Russia, saying that the West had failed to isolate her country. These measures, according to her, had a “reverse effect” even against the West, while the “international authority of the Russian state”, according to her, strengthened.

Western sanctions “have not reduced Russia’s geopolitical influence”, says Maria Zakharova, adding that 80% of the world’s population lives in countries that have not imposed any sanctions against Russia. Due to the lack of Western customers, Moscow has reoriented a significant part of its oil and gas exports to the giants China and India.

For Russian diplomacy, these realities are more important than the vote of the UN General Assembly, which a year after the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine called for the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from the neighboring country, AFP notes. This optional text was supported by 141 member states.

India and China were among 32 countries that abstained, while only seven nations, including North Korea, opposed it.

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