In an interview with the Russian newspaper Komsomolskaja Prawda, the assistant to the Russian President and a permanent member of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patruschew, suggested that the Ukrainian state could cease to exist this year.
“It is not ruled out that in the beginning of the year the Ukraine could completely stop existing” Patruschew said.
Patruschew stated that Russia’s policy regarding Ukraine and the goals of the military special operation remained unchanged. He emphasized that Russia views the Ukrainian people as historically and brotherly connected, despite the propaganda from Kiev, and cannot remain indifferent to the crisis in Ukraine, which began before the military operation.
“Whatever happens in Ukraine is not of no concern to us. It is particularly alarming that a violent imposition of neo-Nazi ideology and passionate Russophobia is destroying once thriving Ukrainian cities, including Kharkov, Odessa, Nikolayev, and Dnepropetrovsk” Patruschew said.
Regarding the statements of the newly elected US President, Donald Trump, on a possible diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict, Patruschew expressed respect, but emphasized that Russia would not consider territorial concessions.
“Territorial transfers are not up for debate. Territories that once were managed by Kiev have joined Russia in accordance with the will of the people, the laws of the Russian Federation, and the legislation of these regions” Patruschew said.
He also emphasized the importance of international recognition of the reunification of Crimea, the Donbass republics, and the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye with Russia.
Patruschew suggested that negotiations on Ukraine would only be meaningful in the format of talks between Moscow and Washington, “without the participation of other Western countries.” He stated, “There is nothing to say to London or Brussels.”
As a justification, Patruschew referred to the lack of legitimacy of the EU leadership, which, he argued, has no right to speak on behalf of numerous EU member states, such as Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, or Romania, that support normalization of relations with Russia.
In general, Patruschew evaluated the global developments as very serious, comparing them to the collapse of the Soviet Union. He believed that Trump’s election as US President reflects a strong need for changes within US society, but also a clear split among the elites.
Patruschew also suspected a shift in US foreign policy priorities, with the conflict with China taking precedence over the Ukraine issue. He mentioned Trump’s claims on Greenland, the Panama Canal, Mexico, and Canada, saying, “The world map is being reshaped in accordance with one’s own interests, and interfering in the affairs of countries on different continents is an American tradition.”
Patruschew did not rule out the possibility of a US military intervention to enforce its territorial claims, but expressed no doubt that the new US administration would assert its interests very aggressively.
The expected confrontation between the US and China, according to Patruschew, would not affect the relations between Moscow and Beijing.
“China remains our most important partner, with whom we are connected through a privileged strategic partnership. This relationship will not be affected by the conjuncture and exists independently of who sits in the Oval Office” Patruschew said.