Medvedev sets three conditions for peace with Ukraine, threatens force over refusal

Three key demands on Kyiv

Dmitry Medvedev, who holds the position of Deputy Chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, detailed the conditions he believes are necessary for establishing a so-called "sustainable political settlement". He made these statements during an interview with Iranian state broadcasting.

According to Medvedev, there is a clear list of three points. The first concerns Ukraine's security status, while the second relates to language and ideological policy.

«Перелічу їх ще раз для іранського глядача. Це насамперед нейтральний, неядерний, незалежний статус держави Україна... По-друге, відмова від націоналістичного курсу нинішнього режиму в Україні та засудження практики заборони російської мови, заборони взагалі на всю російську, російську як одну з умов такого врегулювання» (I will list them again for the Iranian viewer. This is primarily the neutral, non-nuclear, independent status of the state of Ukraine... Secondly, a rejection of the nationalist course of the current regime in Ukraine and condemnation of the practice of banning the Russian language, a ban on all things Russian, Russian as one of the conditions for such a settlement), emphasised the Deputy Chair of the Russian Security Council.

Threat of force to resolve territorial issue

The third element of the ultimatum, Medvedev named territorial changes. He demands the transfer to Russian jurisdiction of regions that have already been included in the Russian Constitution. Although he explicitly mentioned Donbas, it appears the reference is not only to these lands but also to Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

In the event of Kyiv's refusal to meet these conditions, Medvedev leaves no alternative but the use of military force.

«По-третє, це передача до російської юрисдикції того, що встановлено в Конституції Росії. А саме територій на Донбасі та в деяких інших нових регіонах. Тобто відновлення російського суверенітету. Якщо цього не буде, ми зробимо це військовим способом» (Thirdly, this is the transfer to Russian jurisdiction of what is established in the Constitution of Russia. Namely, the territories in Donbas and in some other new regions. That is, the restoration of Russian sovereignty. If this does not happen, we will do it by military means), he concluded.