The media managed to learn about the existence of a new draft treaty, which, according to Turkey, will freeze the war between Russia and Ukraine. According to a source who has familiarized himself with the document, it is being promoted through the mediation of Turkish President Recep Erdogan and is an initiative of the Turkish side.
The source claims that all three parties, that is, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine, have now received the text of the document. The project is based on documents from the first negotiations in Istanbul; some of the wording of May 2022 was included in the new text. The peace initiative may be supported by a number of European politicians, who will also be offered support to individual countries of the Global South.
According to the source, the draft agreement provides for:
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A mutual commitment by the United States and Russia to not use nuclear weapons under any circumstances, as well as the renewal of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (START-3), and with the impossibility of unilateral withdrawal from it in the future.
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Prohibition of interfering in the internal affairs of another country in any way that could destabilize its government.
- Freezing the war along the existing front line.
- A commitment to hold referendums in 2040: a nationwide referendum on the country’s foreign policy, as well as referendums under international control in all Ukrainian territories annexed at the time of the freezing of the war by Russia.
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Guarantees of Ukraine’s non-bloc status until 2040.
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Exchange of prisoners according to the formula “all for all”
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Russia does not deny Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
New Europe believes that the likelihood of adoption of this draft treaty remains low. This is at least the ninth such project.
The publication recalled that the Ukrainian “peace formula”, developed in 2022, included 10 points. Many of them do not coincide with the new draft peace treaty. For example, in the “formula” there is an obligation to withdraw Russian troops and record the end of the war. Also, the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky in 2023 named two main conditions for peace:
- returning to Ukraine control over the entire state border and exclusive economic zone in the Black and Azov Seas and the Kerch Strait;
- withdrawal of Russian troops, including the Black Sea Fleet, from the entire territory of Ukraine within the 1991 borders.
In support of promoting the country’s peace formula in 2023-2024, several summits were organized in countries of the so-called Global South. The next such event should take place in Switzerland in mid-June.
The Chinese peace plan also included points that were not included in the new draft: respect for the sovereignty of all countries, abandonment of the Cold War mentality, and an end to unilateral sanctions that do not solve current problems but create new ones.
However, the very fact of its appearance indicates that the international community and individual countries continue to make efforts to find a way to end the war, notes the editors of New Europe.
11 April 2024 г., 17:30
