The Ukrainian side may take the issue of occupied Crimea "out of brackets" for the sake of signing a real peace treaty with Russia. But the issues of territorial integrity will be determined exclusively by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mykhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Presidential Office, told the media.
"Everything concerning territorial integrity is determined exclusively by the president of Ukraine. He has repeatedly expressed his position: Crimea is an inviolable part of Ukraine. All the territories of Ukraine are Ukraine," he said when asked about his willingness to take the issue of the peninsula "out of the brackets" if it becomes an insurmountable obstacle to the signing of a peace treaty.
According to him, some issues can be taken out in separate negotiating positions.
"But for us the principal thing is the end of the war with a real security formula that will allow not to have such wars on the territory of Ukraine in the future. We want to know exactly how many countries will be with us from day one, if anything, and not wait 72 hours for us to cease to exist. We have not ceased to exist for 43 days and we will not cease to exist for another thousand years, as long as the Ukrainian civilization needs," Podolyak added.
The advisor also added that direct and indirect embargoes are the key sanctions against Russia that could bring the end of the war closer. The Ukrainian side is working on their introduction.
"Oil and gas on the one hand and closed ports on the other hand, and additional sanctions imposed on two key banks, Sberbank and Gazprombank, through which Russia today receives payments for the same energy resources," he said.
Podolyak also noted that the sanctions packages are handled by the Office of the President, and a large international group has already been created to study their effectiveness and work on new restrictions.