April 9, 2024 (EIRNS)—Russia is ready to discuss truly substantial proposals on Ukraine that are based on Russian legitimate interests, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s 2nd CIS (the Commonwealth of Independent States) department Alexey Polishchuk told TASS in an interview, last night. “We are open for a dialogue and ready to discuss really serious proposals based on present-day realities and our legitimate interests,” he said. “Unfortunately, Kyiv and the West are fixed on the so-called ‘Zelenskyy formula,’ continue to prepare a ‘peace conference’ in Switzerland, which is a ‘twin’ of the failed ‘Copenhagen process,’ and deceive the countries of the global South into taking part in it.”
“They say that Russia will also be invited. We have repeatedly stated that we will not take part in such meetings and will not discuss the obviously doomed ‘Zelenskyy formula’ either in general or in detail,” Polishchuk stated. “We openly speak about all of these aspects with our Chinese friends as well as with colleagues from other global majority countries.”
Earlier, Polishchuk had expressed the hope that self-preservation would kick in in Europe with regard to the matter of sending NATO troops to Ukraine. “Should Western troops appear in Ukraine, the risk of a direct armed standoff between NATO and Russia will increase multifold. We do not want such development. We hope that reason and self-preservation instinct will prevail in the West eventually,” he said.
Polishchuk underscored that, despite the attempts of certain NATO states to use the alliance as a tool of confrontation with Russia, “its leadership, judging by the statements, comprehends the potential threats of the bloc’s involvement in the Ukrainian conflict, and tries to keep its distance at this stage.”
