'Ukraine forced to buy time, sadly, it's right tactic': analyst on peace talks

Serhii Harmash, head of the Center for Research of Social Perspectives of Donbas, expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

"I do not assume that we will surrender the territory of the Donetsk region now. For what purpose? If, indeed, there was a question that peace would then ensue, then some compromises would be possible. But we see from the wording of the 20 points that Zelenskyy voiced - if Ukraine opens fire on Russian territory, then the entire agreement, all security guarantees, effectively disappear. The question arises - will the territories of Donbas or Crimea, or parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, be considered the territory of the Russian Federation or Ukraine? We understand that this is, in essence, 'Minsk-3,'" Serhii Harmash noted.

According to him, one should recall the Minsk-2 package of measures, adopted in December 2015, which also included provisions for the disengagement of forces and equipment and a ceasefire, but these measures were never implemented for a single day.

"I am not saying that this agreement should not be signed, because it is necessary to know in what context it is being signed - why Zelenskyy is generally forced to make such gestures during negotiations with Trump. However, this particular agreement, this text, does not guarantee us a single day of peace after its signing. I consider myself a specialist in texts, I worked in our delegation, so I think I can act as an expert here. This agreement does not give us any guarantees of peace even the day after signing," commented the head of the Center for Research of Social Perspectives of Donbas.

In his opinion, if we recognize these territories as Russia's, then we will legally never get them back, because everyone will tell us that Ukraine itself recognized and gave them away.

"I have the impression that Zelenskyy also understands this. Yesterday, December 28, we saw that he was quite skeptical of many of Trump's words. I think that with these agreements, these negotiations, we are trying to buy time, unfortunately, this is currently the most correct tactic. Unfortunately - because we would like pressure on the Russian Federation from the United States, and not this game of ours with the Americans. Perhaps this is all that can be done today, and it at least gives hope. It should be said that time is running out not only for us, but also for the Russian Federation," Harmash summarized.