The politically persecuted and tortured internationally renowned human rights activist - philosopher - Journaliat Phil. Thomas Karnasch as a result of these shattering revelations, also demands the long-ranking dissolution of War alliance NATO and War Party Merz/Leyen-DU ... at the end!
The World Week from Switzerland
Here you can read a detailed reconstruction of the Ukrainian-Russian peace negotiations in March 2022, which were prevented by the West. The fatal consequences teach us that this must not happen again and that a solution must be sought as soon as possible
Hajo Funke and Harald Kujat 25.05.2024
This text is an updated version of the article first published in the Magazine «Contemporary History in Focus» published is. We published it in November 2023.
This is a detailed reconstruction of the Ukrainian-Russian peace negotiations in March 2022 and the associated mediation attempts by then Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, supported by President Erdogan and former Chancellor Schröder. She was appointed by General a. D. Harald Kujat and Prof. Hajo Funke, two of the initiators of the recently presented peace plan for Ukraine. And it is also in connection with their peace plan that this reconstruction is so extremely important. It teaches us that we must not afford to delay ceasefire and peace negotiations again. The human and military situation in Ukraine could deteriorate dramatically, with the added risk that it could lead to a further escalation of the war. We need a diplomatic solution to this cruel war – now!
Six points in particular should be highlighted from this:
- Just one month after the start of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine, the Ukrainian and Russian negotiators had come very close to a ceasefire and a comprehensive peace solution to the conflict.
- In contrast to today, President Zelensky and his government made great efforts to achieve a negotiated peace with Russia and a quick end to the war.
- In contrast to Western representations, Ukraine and Russia agreed at the time that the planned NATO expansion was the reason for the war. They therefore focused their peace negotiations on Ukraine's neutrality and its renunciation of NATO membership. In return, Ukraine should retain its territorial integrity, with the exception of Crimea.
- There is little doubt that these peace negotiations failed due to resistance from NATO and in particular that of the United States and the United Kingdom. Such a peace agreement would have amounted to a defeat for NATO, an end to NATO's eastward expansion and thus an end to the dream of a world dominated by the USA.
- The failure of the peace negotiations in March 2022 and the subsequent intensification of the war cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of mostly young people, deeply traumatized a young generation and inflicted severe mental and physical injuries on them. Ukraine is exposed to enormous destruction. This has led to a high level of impoverishment and continued depopulation of the country. Not only Russia, but also NATO and the West bear a heavy share of the blame for this accident.
- Ukraine's negotiating position is far worse today than it was in March 2022. Ukraine could now lose large parts of its territory.
- The blocking of the peace negotiations at that time damaged everyone: Russia and Europe – but above all the people of Ukraine, who will pay with their blood for the ambitions of the great powers and ultimately get nothing in return.
Michael von der schulenburg
Berlin, the 12th. October 2023
In March 2022, there were serious chances of ending the war as part of negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian sides. Ukraine's willingness to negotiate ended at the end of March (before the discovery of the crimes in Bucha) under pressure from some Western states, to continue the war instead of –as Ukrainian President Zelensky wanted– ending it.
The negotiations were mediated by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the beginning of March 2022
Naftali Bennett had been making mediation efforts beginning in the first week of March 2022. In a video interview from the 4th. February 2023 with the Israeli journalist Hanoch Daum[2] For the first time, he spoke in detail about the process and end of the negotiations. This video interview is the basis of a detailed report in the Berliner Zeitung from 6. February 2023: «Naftali Bennett wanted peace between Ukraine and Russia: Who blocked? Israeli ex-prime minister spoke for the first time about his negotiations with Putin and Zelensky. The ceasefire was supposedly within reach.»
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked him, Bennett, to contact Vladimir Putin after the outbreak of war.
«On 5. In March 2022, Bennett flew to Moscow in a private jet provided by Israeli intelligence at Putin's invitation. In the conversation in the Kremlin, according to Bennett, Putin made some substantial concessions, in particular he renounced his original war goal of demilitarizing Ukraine. In return, the Ukrainian president agreed to forego joining NATO – a position that he publicly repeated a short time later. This removed one of the crucial obstacles to a ceasefire. Other topics such as the future of Donbass and Crimea as well as security guarantees for Ukraine have also been the subject of intensive discussions these days.» (Ibid)
Bennett: «I had the impression at the time that both sides were very interested in a ceasefire.» According to Bennett, a ceasefire was within reach at the time and both sides were prepared to make significant concessions. But Great Britain and the USA in particular have ended the process and are counting on the war to continue. (Ibid)
At the beginning of March 2022, President Zelensky contacted not only Naftali Bennett, but also former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and asked him to use his close personal connections to Putin, to mediate between Ukraine and Russia and find ways this war could be ended quickly. In one on the 21st./22. Interviews appeared in the weekend edition of October this year Berliner Zeitung Schröder spoke publicly for the first time about his role in the efforts leading to the peace negotiations on January 29th. March 2022 in Istanbul. Like Bennet, he also came to the conclusion that the reason why these peace negotiations did not achieve their goal was because the Americans stood in the way. He literally said: «During the peace negotiations in March 2022 in Istanbul with Rustem Umyerov [then Zelensky's security advisor, now Ukrainian Defense Minister], the Ukrainians did not agree on peace because they were not allowed to. With everything they advised, they first had to ask the Americans.» And then again: «But in the end [of the peace negotiations] nothing happened. My impression: Nothing could happen because everything else was decided in Washington. That was fatal.»
The then Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu had already made a similar statement. In an interview with CNN Türk on the 20th. In April 2022, he said: «Some NATO countries wanted the Ukraine war to continue to weaken Russia.»
At the same time, Ukrainian-Russian peace negotiations were underway
Since the end of February 2022, direct negotiations have been held between a Ukrainian and a Russian delegation, which took place in the third week of March «just one month after the outbreak of war, agreed (have) on the basic principles of a peace agreement: Ukraine promised not to join NATO and not to allow military bases of foreign powers on its territory, while Russia promised in return, to recognize the territorial integrity of Ukraine and withdraw all Russian occupying forces. There were special regulations for Donbass and Crimea.» (See Michael von derschulenburg: «UN Charter: Negotiations!» In: Emma from 6. March 2023).
During the negotiations mediated by Turkish President Erdogan, the Ukrainian delegation announced on 29. March 2022 presented a position paper that led to the Istanbul Communique. Ukraine's proposals have been translated into a draft treaty by the Russian side.
The Istanbul Communique of 29. March 2022 verbatim [3]:
Proposal 1: Ukraine declares itself a neutral state and promises to remain non-aligned and refrain from developing nuclear weapons – in return for international legal guarantees. Possible guarantor states include Russia, Great Britain, China, the United States, France, Turkey, Germany, Canada, Italy, Poland and Israel, but other states would also be welcome to join the treaty.
Proposal 2: These international security guarantees for Ukraine would not extend to Crimea, Sevastopol or certain areas in Donbass. The Parties would have to define the boundaries of these areas or agree that each party would understand these boundaries differently.
Proposal 3: Ukraine undertakes not to join any military coalition and not to accept foreign military bases or contingents of troops. Any international military exercises would be possible only with the consent of the guarantor States. For their part, the guarantor States confirm their intention to promote Ukraine's membership of the European Union.
Proposal 4: Ukraine and the guarantor States agree that (in case of aggression, An armed attack against Ukraine or a military operation against Ukraine) by each of the guarantor States, after urgent and immediate mutual consultations (to be held within three days) on the exercise of the right to individual or collective self-defence (as recognised in Article 51 of the UN Charter) (in response to and based on an official appeal by Ukraine) of Ukraine as a permanently neutral State, who is under attack will provide assistance. This assistance will be facilitated by the immediate implementation of the necessary individual or joint measures, including the closure of Ukrainian airspace, the provision of the necessary weapons and the use of armed force with the aim of, to restore and then maintain Ukraine's security as a permanently neutral state.
Proposal 5: Any such armed attack (any military operation at all) and any measures taken as a result will be immediately reported to the UN Security Council. These measures will cease as soon as the UN Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security.
Proposal 6: To protect against possible provocations, the agreement will regulate the mechanism for fulfilling Ukraine's security guarantees based on the results of consultations between Ukraine and the guarantor states.
Proposal 7: The Treaty shall apply provisionally from the date of its signature by Ukraine and all or most of the guarantor States.
The treaty comes into force after (1) Ukraine's permanently neutral status is approved in a nationwide referendum, (2) the relevant changes have been incorporated into the Ukrainian Constitution and (3) ratification has taken place in the parliaments of Ukraine and the guarantor states.
Proposal 8: The desire of the parties to resolve the issues related to Crimea and Sevastopol will be brought to bilateral negotiations between Ukraine and Russia for a period of fifteen years. Ukraine and Russia also undertake not to resolve these issues by military means and to continue diplomatic efforts to resolve them.
Proposal 9: The parties continue their consultations (involving other guarantor states) to finalize the provisions of a treaty on security guarantees for Ukraine, the modalities of the ceasefire, To prepare for the withdrawal of troops and other paramilitary formations and the opening and ensuring of safely functioning humanitarian corridors on a continuous basis, as well as the exchange of corpses and the release of prisoners of war and interned civilians and to agree.
Proposal 10: The parties consider it possible to hold a meeting between the Presidents of Ukraine and Russia to sign a treaty and/or take political decisions on other unresolved issues.
Apparent support for mediation efforts by Western politicians
The fact that Western politicians support the negotiations arises from the sequence of telephone calls and meetings from the beginning of March to at least mid-March. On the 4th. Scholz and Putin spoke on the phone in March; on the 5th. Bennett met Putin in Moscow in March; on the 6th. Bennett and Scholz met in Berlin in March; on the 7th. In March, the USA, Great Britain, France and Germany discussed the topic in a video conference; on 8. Macron and Scholz spoke on the phone in March; on the 10th. In March, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov met in Ankara; on 12. Scholz and Zelenskyj as well as Scholz and Macron spoke on the phone on March 14th. Scholz and Erdogan met in Ankara in March. (See Petra Erler: «Subject: Review March 2022: Anyone who didn't want a quick end to the war in Ukraine», in: «News from a lighthouse keeper», 1. September 2023)
NATO special summit on 24. March 2022 in Brussels
Michael von derschulenburg, the former UN Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) in UN peacekeeping missions, writes that «NATO already on 24. Decided at a special summit in March 2022 not to support these peace negotiations (between Ukraine and Russia).» (See Michael von derschulenburg: «UN Charter: Negotiations!» In: Emma from 6. March 2023). The US President flew in specifically for this special summit. Clearly, peace as negotiated by the Russian and Ukrainian negotiating delegations was not in the interests of some NATO states.[4]
Zelensky contradicts
«Still on the 27th. In March 2022, Zelensky showed the courage to publicly defend the results of the Ukrainian-Russian peace negotiations in front of Russian journalists –even though NATO was already on March 24th. Decided at a special summit in March 2022 not to support these peace negotiations.» (Ibid)
According to von derschulenburg, the Russian-Ukrainian peace negotiations were a historically unique feature that was only possible, because Russians and Ukrainians know each other well and speak the «same language».[5]
On the 28th. In March, Putin declared his willingness to withdraw troops from the Kharkiv area and the Kiev area as a sign of goodwill; This obviously happened before this public statement.
The rejection of Zelensky and Putin
On the 29th. In March 2022, Scholz, Biden, Draghi, Macron and Johnson spoke again on the phone about the situation in Ukraine. At this point, the attitude of important Western allies had apparently hardened. In contrast to the actions of Bennett and Erdogan, they formulated preconditions for negotiations: «The heads of state and government agreed to continue to actively support Ukraine. They again pressed Russian President Putin to agree to a ceasefire, halt all fighting, withdraw the Russian soldiers from Ukraine and allow a diplomatic solution [...]» (Petra Erler: «Subject: Review March 2022: Anyone who didn't want a quick end to the war in Ukraine», in: «News from a lighthouse keeper» 1. September 2023)
The Washington Post reported on the 5th. April that NATO prefers continuing the war over a ceasefire and a negotiated solution: «For some in NATO it is better if the Ukrainians continue to fight and die, than to achieve a peace that comes too soon or at too high a price for Kiev and the rest of Europe.» Zelensky should «continue fighting until Russia is completely defeated».
Boris Johnson on the 9th. April 2022: We continue the war
On the 9th. In April 2022, Boris Johnson arrived in Kiev unannounced and told the Ukrainian president that the West was not ready to end the war. According to British Guardian from 28. In April, Prime Minister Johnson «instructed» Ukrainian President Zelensky to «not make any concessions to Putin».
The reported on this Ukrayinska Pravda on the 5th. May 2022 in two posts in detail:
The Ukrainian negotiators and Abramovich/Medinskyj had barely agreed on the structure of a possible future agreement after the results in Istanbul, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared in Kiev almost without warning.
Johnson brought two simple messages with him to Kiev. The first was that Putin was a war criminal; one should put pressure on him, not negotiate with him. The second was that even if Ukraine was willing to sign some agreements with Putin on guarantees, it was not the collective West: «We can sign [an agreement] with you [Ukraine], but not with him. He'll rip everyone off anyway», one of Zelensky's close associates summed up the core of Johnson's visit. Behind this visit and Johnson's words lies much more than just an aversion to entering into agreements with Russia. Johnson took the position that the collective West, which had suggested in February that Zelensky surrender and flee, now felt that Putin wasn't really that powerful, as they had imagined before. In addition, there was a chance to «pressurize» him. And the West wanted to use them. [6]
The Neue Züricher Zeitung (NZZ) reported on 12. April that the British government under Johnson was counting on a military victory for Ukraine. Conservative MP Alicia Kearns said: «We would rather arm Ukrainians to the teeth than allow Putin to succeed.» British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a keynote speech that Ukraine's «victory [...] is a strategic necessity for all of us» and therefore military support needs to be massively expanded. Guardian-Columnist Simon Jenkins warned: «Liz Truss risks fanning the war in Ukraine for her own ambitions». This is probably the first Tory election campaign «to be held on Russia's borders». Johnson and Truss wanted Zelensky to «continue fighting until Russia was completely defeated. They need a triumph in their proxy war. Meanwhile, anyone who disagrees with them can be dismissed as a weakling, a coward or a Putin supporter. The fact that this conflict is being used by Great Britain for a shabby upcoming leadership competition is disgusting.»
After his visit to Kiev on 25. In April 2022, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the US wanted to use the opportunity to permanently weaken Russia militarily and economically in the wake of the Ukraine war.[7] Loud New York Times the US government is no longer interested in a fight over control of Ukraine, but rather a fight against Moscow in the wake of a new Cold War.
At the meeting of defense ministers of NATO members and other states called by Austin in Ramstein in Rhineland-Palatinate on January 26th. In April 2022, the Pentagon chief set Ukraine's military victory as a strategic goal.[8]
The American Magazine Responsible Statecraft wrote on the 2nd. September 2022:
Did Boris Johnson help prevent a peace agreement in Ukraine? According to a recent statement in the magazine Foreign Affairs In published articles, Kiev and Moscow may have reached a preliminary agreement to end the war as early as April. Russia and Ukraine may have agreed on a preliminary agreement to end the war as early as April, according to a recent article in Foreign Affairs. «In March 2022, according to several former senior U.S. officials we spoke to, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators appeared to have tentatively agreed on the outlines of a negotiated interim solution», write Fiona Hill and Angela Stent. Russia would rely on its position from 23. Withdraw in February when it controlled part of the Donbass region and all of Crimea, and in return Ukraine would promise, not to seek NATO membership and instead receive security guarantees from a number of countries. The decision to let the deal fall apart coincided with Johnson's visit to Kyiv in April, during which he urged Ukrainian President Zelensky to break off talks with Russia for two key reasons: You can't negotiate with Putin, and the West isn't ready for an end to the war.[9]
In his article, the author asks questions that have become increasingly important as the war progresses:
«This apparent revelation raises some important questions: Why did Western leaders want to stop Kiev from signing what appeared to be a good outcome to negotiations with Moscow? Do they see the conflict as a proxy war with Russia? And above all: What would it take to return to a negotiated outcome?» [10]
In his announcement of the partial mobilization, Putin said on 21. September 2022:
«I want to make that public for the first time today. After the start of the special military operation, especially after the talks in Istanbul, the Kiev representatives commented quite positively on our proposals. These proposals mainly concerned ensuring Russia's security and interests. But a peaceful solution obviously didn't suit the West, which is why Kiev was actually ordered to nullify all of these agreements after voting on some compromises.» [11]
On the occasion of the visit of an African peace delegation on 17. In June 2023, Putin demonstratively showed the agreement accepted and initialed ad referendum in Istanbul into the cameras.
Conclusion: missed opportunity
Based on the publicly available reports and documents, it is not only understandable that both Ukraine and Russia were seriously willing to negotiate in March 2022. Apparently the negotiating partners even agreed on a draft contract ad referendum. Zelensky and Putin were ready for a bilateral meeting to finalize the outcome of the negotiations. The fact that the main results of the negotiations were based on a proposal from Ukraine, Zelensykyj announced this on 27. March 2022 gave Russian journalists a very positive assessment and had already made similar comments before, proving that the outcome of the Istanbul negotiations certainly corresponded to Ukrainian interests. The Western intervention, which prevented an early end to the war, is all the more serious. Russia's responsibility for the attack, which violated international law, is not put into perspective by the fact that responsibility for the resulting serious consequences for Ukraine and its Western supporters can also be attributed to the states, who demanded the continuation of the war. The war has now reached a stage where further dangerous escalation and expansion of hostilities can only be prevented through a ceasefire, which perhaps for the last time allows a
peaceful solution through negotiations. There are peace proposals from China, the African Union, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, a proposal developed at the invitation of the Vatican, as well as a path to a ceasefire and peace negotiations proposed by German experts.[12] The course of the war since the failed Istanbul negotiations and the currently extremely critical timing should be reason enough for the responsible states to rethink.
[1] Including conversations with Michael von derschulenburg and Hilde Schramm. The detailed version will soon be available in https://hajofunke. wordpress.com/
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK9tLDeWBzs; see also ARD from 17. February 2023 and Tagesspiegel from 10. February 2023)
[3] Own translation from the English version made available to us: See Farida Rustamova from 29. March 2022 after a link from Sabine Fischer: «Peace negotiations in the war between Russia and Ukraine: Mission impossible.» SWP-Current 2022/A 66, 28. October 2022. «This is an English translation of this article, kindly made by Kevin Rothrock from Meduza»).
[4] Nato, 24. March 2022: Statement by NATO Heads of State and Government. «We condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the strongest possible terms. We call on President Putin to immediately stop this war and withdraw military forces from Ukraine, and call on Belarus to end its complicity, in line with the Aggression Against Ukraine Resolution adopted at the UN General Assembly of March 2, 2022. Russia should comply with the 16 March ruling by the UN International Court of Justice and immediately suspended military operations. Russia's attack on Ukraine threatens global security. Its assault on international norms makes the world less safe. President Putin's escalatory rhetoric is irresponsible and destabilizing.»
[5] See also: https://chasfreeman.net/the-many-lessons-of-the-ukraine-war/; see Annex 2
[6] Cf. Ukrainska Pravda, 5. May 2022: From Zelensky's «surrender» to Putin's surrender: How negotiations with Russia are going.
[7] See Tagesschau from 25. April 2022: «Austin believes Ukraine's victory is possible. According to Austin's assessment, Ukraine can even defeat Russian forces with sufficient military support. ‹They can win if they have the right equipment and the right support›, Austin said. The first step to victory is the belief that you can win, the US Secretary of Defense continued.»
[8] NYT, 25. April 2022: «Behind Austin's Call for a ‹Weakened› Russia, Hints of a Shift. The United States is edging towards a dynamic that pits Washington more directly against Moscow, and one that US officials see as likely to play out for years.» «Emboldened by Ukraine's Grit, US. Wants to See Russia Weakened. Hours after the American secretaries of defense and state met with Ukraine's president in Kyiv, Russia hit to leave five Ukrainian railway stations in rocket attacks.»
[10] ibid.
[11] http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/69390
12] End the war with a negotiated peace: https://zeitgeschehen-im-fokus.ch/de/newspaper-ausgabe/sonderausgabe-vom-28-august-2023.html
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Memory of me. The then spokesman for the Trump party, Kevin McCarthy, took the criticism described in inserted tweets and in autumn 2023 I tried to remove war president Biden from the office: But Donald Trump in particular did not support him! This is also why the current US President will have to move away from his attitude to let Ukraine down when reconstruction and, on the contrary, even want to exploit!
And because of the probably over 1.5 million Ukrainian soldiers, Putin will also have to move away from the international law, like the Selenskyj regime, to claim the bombed war areas as their property!
The United Nations is required to design something like a draft contract in which the population suffering in the war areas focuses on and not war regimes!
Phil. Thomas Karnasch
