Cyrille Bret, teacher at Science Po and co-author of the EurAsiaProspective blog, estimated Wednesday March 9 on franceinfo that Russia “establishes a barter between the lives of civilians and the submission of the Ukrainian authorities”.
>> LIVE. War in Ukraine: agreement between Moscow and Kiev on several “humanitarian corridors” opened on Wednesday, announces a Ukrainian official
The two countries have agreed on the opening of new humanitarian corridors, which are not in the direction of Russia this time, after the Ukrainian president explained that he no longer insisted on joining NATO.
franceinfo: The Ukrainian president says he is ready for a “compromise” on the status of the separatist territories and on his membership in NATO: how do you analyze it?
Cyrille Bret: The Ukrainian president in the middle of the war, is preparing the exit, to show that he and the Ukrainian authorities have only one obsession: to find a ceasefire and a stable peace. The protection of the eastern regions of Ukraine, in the Donbass, and the non-establishment of NATO bases are the explicit reasons for the war started by Russia. He wants to put an end to the effects of the war by putting an end to the causes: Ukraine’s candidacy for NATO and the separatism of the eastern regions. It is a long-term vision.
This can be heard by Vladimir Putin?
One can doubt it, insofar as the Kremlin’s obsession is to take control of the political, economic and media decision-making centers of the country, that is to say Kiev, at the cost of the lives of civilians. In my opinion, there is little chance that this gesture will be followed up on the Russian side, but the Ukrainian presidency cannot fail to show its determination to find a lasting solution and a stable peace with its Russian neighbour.
A few thousand civilians are evacuated in humanitarian corridors: is that too little?
The civilians were the ones who had to be protected. They almost become a lever of pressure or even a weapon of war on the part of Russia, which establishes a barter between the lives of civilians and the submission of the Ukrainian authorities. This is something which is horrible and which arouses the disapproval of the entire international community. The way civilians are treated in armed conflict is absolutely crucial, not only for respect for international law and human life, but also crucial for the preparation of the aftermath. If the Ukrainian civilian population is permanently traumatized by the war operations, it will be impossible to find a stable solution and hostility to Russia will not be extinguished for several generations. This is an absolutely essential question.
Why does the United States refuse to deliver planes to Ukraine as requested by Poland?
This is the classic position of the Polish government which has been, since the start of the Ukrainian crisis seven years ago, quite maximalist, dictated by the theoretically founded fears of Poland towards Russia. The United States has a position on the matter which is currently ambiguous and I hope that soon it will be from the United States that a stable peace solution can be found. He is an actor involved in the conflict but who is not a neighbor of Russia, so his position is special.