Nearly Half of Ukrainians Believe Time Right to Start Dialogue with Russia: Poll
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – As many as 44% of Ukrainian residents believe that it is time to launch peace talks with Russia, according to the Razumkov Center's survey commissioned by the Mirror of the Week newspaper.
According to the survey, the respondents' sentiments differ in various regions, although the average figure for Ukraine is 44%. Residents in the country’s south are most in favor of negotiations (60%), TASS reported.
The vast majority of Ukrainians, 84%, are not willing to accept Moscow’s territorial demands. A total of 77% of respondents oppose the lifting of sanctions against Russia, while 58% oppose the introduction of provisions on the nuclear-free and non-aligned status of Ukraine into the constitution.
The poll was conducted on June 20-28. According to the Mirror of the week newspaper, no military personnel took part in the poll, so it reflects "the opinion of the home front."
Last week, the Strana weekly said that bloggers and some opposition politicians in Ukraine had started to speak out in favor of finding ways to resolve the conflict as soon as possible, accusing the authorities of seeking to profit from the fighting. Recently, Ukrainian social networks have been increasingly calling on the authorities to negotiate peace as soon as possible, noting that the goal of "reaching the 1991 borders" declared by the president's office is unrealistic.
Even influencers with millions of followers, many of whom had previously tried to avoid political topics, began to take this stance. This trend was said to reflect the mood in Ukrainian society. Since last fall, a growing number of people has been calling for an early end to hostilities, even if this would involve the loss of part of the territory. The Ukrainian Security Service has already "held talks" with a number of these influencers.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that Russia remained open for any dialogue on Ukraine, including with the participation of mediators, as long as it achieved its goals. On June 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to build a new architecture that would take into account the concerns of all. He also listed conditions for peace talks with Ukraine. Among them are the withdrawal of the Ukrainian armed forces from Donbass and Novorossiya and Kiev’s pledge not to join NATO. Ukraine should also remain neutral and commit to having no nuclear weapons, while all Western sanctions against Russia should be removed. Putin pointed out that if Ukraine and the West rejected these conditions, they could change in the future. Kiev rejected the Russian peace plan.