(Seoul = News 1) Reporter Lee Chang-gyu = Russia has virtually set the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donbas region (Luhansk and Donetsk) as a red line for the end of the war negotiations.
Yuri Ushakov, Kremlin foreign policy adviser, told Russian state media on the 10th (local time) that Russia's position on territorial control remains unchanged.
"If Ukrainian forces do not withdraw from the Donbas, the solution to the Ukraine problem will remain in place even after 10 negotiations," he said, adding that Ukraine will eventually realize this need.
The Donbas region is one of the biggest issues in the war in Ukraine. Russia currently occupies about 75% of the Donbas region and demands Ukraine's withdrawal from the rest of the region, but Ukraine maintains that it is impossible to yield its territory.
Ushakov still left open the possibility of negotiations with the United States.
Ushakov said U.S. attention has recently shifted to the Middle East, but Russia does not believe the U.S. has decided to leave the Ukraine issue unresolved, adding he is confident that special envoy Steve Witkov and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner will visit Moscow again.
President Trump also told reporters near the White House the day before that he was ready to send a high-level delegation to Moscow, saying, "I really want to see the conflict end, where 25,000 young soldiers were killed last month alone."
Reporter Lee Chang-gyu (yellowapollo@news1.kr )
The Russia-Ukraine war is also under agreement.
It seems to be Ukraine that has become relatively more difficult due to the lack of interest in the U.S. mediation.
It's time to end the war and discuss ways to ensure peace.