Representatives of the Russian delegation during the most recent round of three-way negotiations in Geneva stated outright that they would accept the security guarantees the United States provides to Ukraine, said the head of the President’s Office and a member of the Ukrainian negotiating team, Kyrylo Budanov, in an interview with Ukrainian media.
“The [security guarantees — ed.] being proposed by the United States — they [the Russians — ed.] are saying outright that yes, we are forced to, we are ready to accept them,” Budanov said.
In light of this, the head of the President’s Office said he sees progress on the issue of providing Ukraine with security guarantees.
Earlier, media reported that the American side is offering Ukraine security guarantees based on Article 5 of the North Atlantic Alliance’s charter.
According to Budanov, he believes in the talks, despite some skepticism about the process.
“I hope we achieve success. And that will be our victory,” the official added.
Responding to a remark from journalists that Western intelligence services do not believe in the intentions of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and predict he is ready to continue the war, the head of the President’s Office recalled that until recently he himself led intelligence and said the conclusions of Ukrainian and Western intelligence often did not match.
“In most cases, we were right, so for me this is not an indicator. In addition, everyone has their own, shall we say, national interests; they do not always coincide and, in principle, should not coincide with the interests of Ukraine,” the official added.
In the same interview, Budanov also said that as of today the Russian army would not be able to launch an offensive on Kyiv.
“As of now, that is not the case. I hope it never will be,” the head of the President’s Office said.
Budanov also said a new prisoner exchange is expected in the coming days. He noted that among those held by Russia are people the aggressor state captured as far back as 2014. The Ukrainian side is working to bring them back, even though the exchange process is difficult.
Earlier, Budanov urged Western countries not to lift economic sanctions on Russia even if a peace agreement is signed, since the Russian Federation will not change its imperial foreign policy.
