Russia will not accept a “freeze” of the Ukraine conflict, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said at a Security Council meeting on Ukraine on November 9, warning that such a plan would leave existing security threats to Russia in place and create conditions for a new escalation. According to Sina Finance, Nebenzya called Russia’s position “unchanging” and said Ukrainian authorities and their “Western patrons” were seeking to replace a comprehensive resolution of the crisis with so-called energy, food, air and maritime ceasefires. He said those proposals aimed to give Ukraine time to replenish losses and redeploy in preparation for resuming hostilities.
Nebenzya said Russia would reject such an arrangement and that a solution should be “comprehensive, solid and lasting” and address the root causes of the crisis. He also said European countries continued to send weapons and funds to Ukraine, promote the “Russian threat” narrative and encourage their populations to accept that war with Russia was inevitable. He said Russia was not seeking armed confrontation with Europe, but warned that if European countries initiated a war, the nature of the confrontation would be “completely different.”
Russia-U.S.-Ukraine talks are scheduled for November 10-11 in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The three sides are resuming in-person discussions after a nine-month hiatus since negotiations stalled in February. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently said ceasefires covering energy and critical infrastructure, as well as the resumption of Black Sea grain exports, would be key topics at the talks.