On November 14, speaking to Izvestia, Russian mobile ambassador Rodion Miroshnik said that the agreements signed for independence with Ukraine were meaningless.
Miroshnik, who was tasked with collecting evidence of the alleged crimes, gave a frank assessment of the value of direct talks with the current Kiev government. He said Ukraine was a country with "limited functions" and there were no guarantees that it would implement the signed agreements.
The diplomat said that although Ukraine is still an official combatant in the conflict, the right to make decisions does not really lie with Kiev. According to him, Ukraine is currently only implementing the wishes of the EU and other European countries, which he called "sponsors and owners of the Kiev regime".
Mr. Miroshnik's statement is not personal, but has been reaffirmed with the consistent stance that other senior Russian officials have recently expressed, showing that Moscow seems to increasingly underestimate the role of the Kiev government in any future solution.
Russia's common view is that substantial negotiations must take place directly with the US and EU, which Moscow considers the final decision making sides.
On November 13, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also made a similar argument, accusing European countries of "sabotage all peace efforts" and convincing the US to refuse negotiations. Similarly, on October 28, another Russian official at the United Nations, Mr. Konstantinvorontsov, also accused the EU itself of " doing everything it could to prolong" the conflict.
These comments were made in the context of diplomatic efforts still completely at a standstill.
On the Ukrainian side, on October 28, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced his readiness for negotiations, but on two conditions: no territorial censea and no negotiations in Russia or Belarus.
This creates a diplomatic vicious cycle: Russia wants to talk to the "owners of Kiev", but the West insists they will not negotiate the fate of Ukraine without Ukraine.
