Western intervention
No place for true diplomacy due to Western intervention: Russian ambassador
Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander Vikentyevich Mantytskiyhas said there is no place for true diplomacy at the moment as Western countries keep pumping Ukraine with razor-edge weapons.
While speaking at a seminar on Tuesday, he said western diplomats vehemently demand Russian defeat in the battlefield calling upon Ukraine to fight till the last Ukrainian.
“As far as the contacts with the Ukrainian are concerned, we have never refused to talk, as evidenced from the meetings in Belarus and Turkey,” said the Russian envoy.
However, he said, for these meetings to be fruitful, it requires a constructive position from Kiev which presently is nowhere in sight.
Moreover, the Ukrainian patrons in Europe and the US seem to bar Kiev from having any substantive interaction with Moscow, which makes all the efforts futile, said the Russian envoy.
He also said that for Moscow, diplomacy has always been the first choice. “Their doors remain open for all faithful efforts, but it needs more than one party to negotiate. It also requires an ability to conduct a respectful dialogue, to be open minded and responsive towards aspirations and sensitivity of the other side but these prerequisites are absent.”
The 4th CPS international seminar on “Importance of Diplomacy in Conflict Resolution: The Current War between Russia and Ukraine” was held at North South University (NSU). The seminar was organized by Center for Peace Studies (CPS), NSU.
Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan, former foreign secretary Shahidul Haque, Director, Leibniz Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), Germany Prof. Nicole Deitelhoff and Professor Gunhild Hoogensen Gjorv, Professor in Security Studies, The Arctic University of Norway (UiT) joined as panelists chaired by Pro Vice-Chancellor of NSU Prof M. Ismail Hossain.
The Turkish ambassador said his country supports Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and considers Russian aggression to be unlawful and a blatant violation of international law according to the Charter of the United Nations.
He said both warring parties are currently focused on military gains, but the end of the war and restoration of peace can only take place at the negotiation table.
The Turkish envoy said they cannot give up on a diplomatic solution and emphasized the importance of multilateral efforts and a negotiated settlement in ending the war.
He also stated that Turkey does not seek just any kind of peace, but rather a "fair peace" that will result in the complete restoration of Ukraine's territories.
The Turkish envoy also claimed that Turkey’s strategic cooperation with Ukraine and working connections with Russia put it in a unique position to mediate, and that both relationships should be maintained.