Only Diplomacy Can End Ukraine War – OpEd

“The Ukraine war can only be resolved through Diplomacy,” Ukrainian President  Zelensky said on 21st May amid a deadlock in negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. He told a Ukrainian television channel. 

If President  Zelensky and his people are convinced that the present Ukraine war can only be resolved through  the negotiating table then why are the ongoing negotiations not progressing? The blame is squarely put on Russia;“Russia does not want that.” In such a situation why is the UN Secy Gen not acting to get both the leaders on board along with Turkey,China,India,France and Germany if required.US and UK should be kept out of these negotiations as  their stands are not likely to let the negotiation progress.US-“We want Ukraine to win, One of our goals has been to limit Russia’s ability to do something like this again, That’s why we are arming the Ukrainians with weapons and equipment to defend themselves from Russian attacks, and it’s why we are using sanctions and export controls that are directly targeted at Russia’s defense industry to undercut Russia’s economic and military power to threaten and attack its neighbors.”US President Joe Biden has labeled Putin as a ‘War Criminal’  and has declared  that Putin “Cannot remain in power.”UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesperson;  “Sanctions on Russia are to bring down the Putin regime.” 

President  Zelensky talks about about security guarantees for his nation, saying it would be signed by “Friends and partners of Ukraine, without Moscow”. How can there be security guarantees without Russia being part of the problem.Ukraine wantssecurity guarantees from Russia similarly Russia demands security guarantees from NATO.The results of negotiations have to be fair  to both sides.

Authorities on both sides blame  each other of not wanting to continue talks to end hostilities!The last talks took place on April 22, according to Russian news agencies.

Ukraine’s Neutrality Proposal  in end  March:

• Zelensky had  accepted that Ukraine would not join NATO.
• Ukraine would become a non-aligned and “non-nuclear” state, with no foreign military bases or contingents on its territory.
• Legally binding guarantees would require other countries to protect a neutral Ukraine in the event of attack.
• Within three days guarantor states would have to hold consultations and come to Ukraine’s defence.
• Ukraine would be allowed to join the European Union, but would not enter military-political alliances and any international exercises would require consent of guarantor states.
• The future status of Russian-annexed Crimea would be negotiated over the next 15 years

Ukraine has ruled out agreeing to a ceasefire with Russia – and said it will not accept any deal with Moscow that involves giving up territory.

Putin claims “Russians and Ukrainians are one people, denying Ukraine its  history and that Ukraine never had stable traditions of genuine statehood.”For Putin the NATO’s 30 member  military alliance has one aim that is  to split society in Russia and ultimately destroy it. In a Victory Day speech on 9 May he accused NATO of launching an active military build-up on territories adjacent to Russia and before the war had demanded that NATO  reverse its eastward expansion, to pre 1997 and not to deploy strike weapons near Russia’s borders. 

Ukraine Wheat  Blockade   the Blame Game:

Urgent measures to break the Russian blockade of grain exports from Ukraine’s ports, including by trying to open routes through Romanian and Baltic ports, will be discussed by G7 foreign and agriculture ministers at meetings in Germany.The grain exports blockade is fast becoming one of the most urgent diplomatic and humanitarian crises in Ukraine.  Biden said the “US was working on solutions to get this food out into the world so that it could help bring down prices!”Who is listening to US?

The UN World Food Programme, David Beasley has  said: “Right now Ukraine’s grain silos are full. At the same time, 44 million people around the world are marching towards starvation. We have to open up these ports so that food can move in and out of Ukraine. The world demands it because hundreds of millions of people globally depend on food that comes through these ports.”

Russian UN Ambassador:

“If you do not want to lift your sanctions of choice, then why are you accusing us of causing this food crisis? Why is it that as a result of your irresponsible geopolitical games, the poorest countries and regions must suffer?” 

“You assert that allegedly we are preventing agricultural products from being taken out of Ukraine by sea,the truth is that it is Ukraine and not Russia that has blocked 75 vessels from 17 states in the ports of Nikolaev, Kherson, Chernomorsk, Mariupol, Ochakov, Odesa and Yuzhniy and has mined the waterways.” He warned that “unless this issue is resolved, we cannot speak of any opportunities to export Ukrainian grain by sea and stressed that Russia remains “a responsible supplier of both food and energy.”

At this juncture it appears it is in the hands of President  Zelensky and his people in coordination with the UN to have a ceasefire for their own benefit of wheat exports. This is an opportunity for both the warring nations a win win situation and the world humanity who are dependent on their food grains.Seeing the attitude of the western leaders especially Joe Biden and Boris Johnson negotiations are not easy to come.President  Zelensky and President Putin have both to understand in the interest of their nations that peace will only come through one to one diplomacy.