SHANGHAI, July 26. /TASS/. Ukraine hopes to use potential talks with Russia to buy time and regroup amid a difficult situation on the ground, Zheng Renyi, an expert with the Center for Russian Studies at East China Normal University in Shanghai, told TASS.
"During his visit to China, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba expressed readiness for dialogue and talks with Russia, which indicates a potential change in strategy. Perhaps, it’s battlefield developments that are behind this change. Ukraine is becoming increasingly passive in military terms, while the Russian army is pushing ahead. That said, Ukraine may be hoping to buy time for a respite to reduce military pressure, as well as to reintegrate its resources and strategies. Given that Ukraine’s chances of winning militarily are relatively low, and the price of continued war is so high, negotiating for better terms seems to be their best option at this point," the expert pointed out.
In his view, the international community, primarily, the West, is changing its attitude towards Ukraine. "Emergency military aid has limited impact. Trust in what Ukraine is doing is generally declining, which could lead to increased pressure on Ukraine to resolve the conflict through talks, ease the humanitarian crisis and the economic burden of the West’s large-scale support, which it can no longer afford," the expert noted, adding that the Ukrainian government needed to consider talks for the sake of its own economy too.
If Russia and Ukraine launch talks, each of the parties will need to show resolve and willingness to make compromises, the expert went on to say. "There needs to be an effective way to regulate the [accords]. We need to learn from the failure of the Minsk Agreements and avoid meaningless and ineffective peace deals," he said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said during consultations with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on July 24 that Ukraine was preparing for dialogue with Russia. However, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out that since Kiev’s ban on communication with Moscow remained in effect, "many things will have to be clarified."