PARIS, October 20. /TASS/: The current Ukrainian authorities will have to concede the loss of territory if they want to achieve peace, preserve their sovereignty and avoid further escalation of the conflict, Jacques Sapir, a specialist in global economics and research director of the Paris-based Higher School of Social Sciences (·cole des Hautes ·tudes en Sciences Sociales) said on the website of the quarterly Front Populaire magazine.
"The scale of human losses speaks to the obvious urgency of negotiations, even on a smaller scale, on establishing a ceasefire," he believes.
Sapir acknowledges that such an option will not be received well either in Ukraine, which has lost 20% of its territory, or Russia, which is worried about Ukraine being rearmed, if the conflict is put on hold. In this context, Sapir believes it would be useful for Kiev to look at the example of Finland, which, following conflicts with the Soviet Union, chose peace and gave up a number of territories, thus "preserving its political sovereignty and ensuring economic development," as well as normalizing relations with a major neighbor.
"The country will retain its sovereignty, like Finland, with its free elections, but it will have to accept the loss of territories currently occupied by Russia, neutrality - that is, to give up on its desire to join NATO and possibly the EU, and enshrine in the Constitution the equal use of the Russian and Ukrainian languages," Sapir said.
Also, he speculates that Kiev will have to agree to some form of demilitarization and restrictions on the amount of heavy weapons in the army. To ensure security guarantees, Sapir speculates, it might be possible to conclude an agreement on military assistance with France, Germany and Poland in case of a new conflict. The expert asks what denazification would look like for Russia. He argues that this concept is vague.
"The international crisis caused by the conflict in Ukraine is a major crisis. Possibly the biggest crisis since the end of the Cold War. A simple ceasefire and freeze will not resolve it. It will certainly require complex negotiations on restoring stability and security in Europe. The sooner Europe's ruling elites realize this, the better," he concluded.
