GENEVA, August 2. /TASS/. Reports by Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) that the US and UK leaders have agreed to replace Vladimir Zelensky with Ukraine’s former Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny indicate that Western countries are ready to hold serious negotiations on settling the Ukraine crisis, retired Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Bosshard, former military adviser to the OSCE Secretary-General (2014-2020), told TASS.
According to him, replacing Zelensky "was a necessary condition" for "Ukraine to hold serious talks about a truce." By all appearances, the West "indeed wants it," the expert believes.
"It became clear earlier that the West does not want Zelensky anymore. And at talks, he wouldn’t be on a par with Putin," Bosshard said. In his opinion, the issue is how Ukraine will react to this news. "Will they let a Western candidate be imposed on them just like that? And how will other leading politicians react?" the expert added.
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service reported that the United States and the United Kingdom decided to nominate Ukraine’s former Commander-in-Chief and current envoy to the UK Valery Zaluzhny for president at a secret meeting in the Alps. According to the Russian intelligence agency, the agreement sheds light on the underlying cause of the recent scandalous attempt by Zelensky to restrict the powers of the local anti-corruption mechanisms. The SVR also noted that the decision "became the main condition for ‘resetting’ Kiev’s relations with the Western partners, primarily Washington, and for a continuation of Western aid to Ukraine in its confrontation with Russia.".