Why Has Russia Returned to Talks?

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00:00Why has Russia chosen to come back to the negotiating table now?

00:03It's been seven weeks of silence.

00:06What's prompted this renewed engagement that we're seeing?

00:08Hello, good evening. Thank you very much for allowing me to be in this program.

00:13So I think it's obvious that the Kremlin is looking at these negotiations as an opportunity to make a ceasefire.

00:24Of course, there were requests from President Vladimir Putin to the Ukrainian side about the territories that Russia took in 2022.

00:40But, of course, negotiations in Russia, still the Russian government looks at it as an opportunity,

00:49especially during the administration of the President of USA, Donald Trump.

00:56And, of course, the negotiations won't be easy for both sides, for the Russian side and for the Ukrainian side,

01:03because Russia is asking for Ukraine to change its position toward the territories of Kharkov,

01:13Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Kherson, Donetsk, Lugansk, of course, of Crimea and to recognize it as a part of Russian Federation

01:21and to also not only from the Ukrainian side, but from the international community.

01:28And also to not have any military base that belongs to NATO on Ukrainian lands.

01:39So, of course, this request started from the beginning of what's called in Russia as a special military operation.

01:46But Ukrainians sees it as capitulation and not as opportunity to make the ceasefire.