Results of meeting in Jeddah: Ukraine will not recognise occupied territories as Russian and will not withdraw from annexed regions
A Ukrainian diplomat briefed journalists on the condition of anonymity on what was discussed at the talks with the US in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) on Tuesday, 11 March, but what was left out of the joint statement of the two countries.
According to Censor.NET, the "Voice of America" and the BBC wrote about it.
It is noted that the diplomat said this before the speech of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The main theses of the Ukrainian representative:
- The issue of territorial integrity, the issue of the occupied territories was discussed. But not the issue of territorial concessions (of Ukraine). Ukraine will never recognise Russia's possession of these territories. In the statement by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he was referring to the fact that Russia is currently holding the territories in the event of a ceasefire, but not to the transfer of these territories to Russia. This is a matter of terminology. Ukraine cannot return these territories militarily, but it does not recognise them as Russian, but will try to return them diplomatically in the future.
- The negotiations did not discuss the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops and the return of the territories that Russia has written into its constitution, i.e. parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions that remain under Ukrainian control.
- American assistance and intelligence sharing resumed an hour after the meeting in Jeddah ended. This was the American position. Ukraine agreed to a 30-day ceasefire, after which the Americans immediately resumed assistance and exchange.
- For Ukraine, the exchange of prisoners was an important issue, and it insisted on including this point in the general statement. If Russia agrees to a 30-day ceasefire, Ukraine expects to intensify the exchange of prisoners.
A representative of the Ukrainian delegation noted that the meeting lasted more than eight hours, which underscores the depth and constructiveness of the conversation. Both sides went into great detail about the ceasefire model. At the beginning of the meeting, the Ukrainian side proposed a ceasefire in the sky and at sea. Both sides went through the proposal in great detail. The second half of the meeting was spent discussing a complete ceasefire.
The presence of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region was also discussed at the meeting in the context of various issues, but there were no demands that Ukraine withdraw its troops for a truce.
"The agreement in Jeddah is a compromise for Ukraine. But above all, it is our desire to show our commitment to peace in order to end the war. The Americans proposed a complete truce for 30 days, which the Ukrainian side agreed to as a compromise," said the representative of the Ukrainian delegation.
He added that the truce would also mean an end to drone attacks. What will happen for violations of the ceasefire has not yet been discussed, and a ceasefire proposal is only on the table. Ukraine is ready to provide technical teams to monitor the ceasefire.
Another official who attended the meeting, Oleksandr Bevz, an adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, told Radio Liberty that the talks were successful because they improved the "psycho-emotional background" between the parties:
"Now, in the context of everything that is happening, it is very important that the parties remain under a positive emotional impression. And I think this happened simultaneously for both the American delegation and the Ukrainian delegation," he said.
