November 29, 2023

Russia's Unrealistic Peace Offer


Russia's Unrealistic Peace Offer
A Ukrainian flag. Vika Strawberrika, Unsplash.

Davyd Arakhamia, leader of the ruling "Servant of the People" party in Ukrainian parliament, revealed that, in the spring of 2022, Russian negotiators proposed a conditional peace deal.

Arakhamia, who spearheaded Ukraine's delegation in talks with Russia, said Russian negotiators offered to halt their invasion if Ukraine agreed not to join NATO. The senior Ukrainian lawmaker did not provide further details about the previously undisclosed Russian proposal or Ukraine's response. The two sides have held sporadic negotiations since the Kremlin launched its full-scale offensive on February 24, but have so far failed to reach a diplomatic solution.

"They really hoped they would get us to sign such an agreement, so that we would become neutral. It was the biggest issue for them. They were ready to end the war if we took — as Finland did — neutrality and made commitments to not join NATO. In fact, this was their key point," Arakhamia said in an interview.

As to why Ukraine rebuffed the Russian proposal, Arakhamia said accepting the deal would have required altering the country's constitution, which sets future NATO membership as a priority. He added that even floating such constitutional changes would have been perceived as capitulating to Moscow's demands under duress amid the ongoing war.

“There was no trust in the Russians that they would [end the war]. This could only be done if there were security guarantees. We couldn't sign something, move away, everyone would exhale, and then they [the Russians] would come in more prepared — because they came in, in fact, unprepared for such resistance. Therefore, we could only go forward when there is one hundred percent confidence that it will not happen again a second time. And there is no such confidence.”

You Might Also Like

Invading Ukraine, Then vs. Now
  • March 01, 2022

Invading Ukraine, Then vs. Now

A comparison of Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014 vs. the invasion of all of Ukraine in 2022 (written two weeks prior to the invasion)
NATO and Ukraine Grow Closer
  • October 18, 2023

NATO and Ukraine Grow Closer

NATO and Ukraine are planning to launch an analytical center to revise soldier training based on the Russian invasion.
Will NATO Say No?
  • July 08, 2023

Will NATO Say No?

On whether Ukraine will receive an invitation to join NATO next week.
War Support Falling
  • December 04, 2022

War Support Falling

According to an internal, Kremlin poll, 55% of Russians favor negotiations with Ukraine, and only 25% are in favor of continuing the war.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955