Putin made it clear what he expects from Zelensky
The tightening of Moscow’s position on Ukraine, observed recently, is a signal to the newly elected President Vladimir Zelensky that Russia expects Kyiv to implement the Minsk agreements and will not allow concessions.
Russian political scientist Oleg Ignatov stated this to PolitNavigator, commenting on today’s decree of Vladimir Putin to simplify the issuance of Russian passports to residents of the LDPR.
“There were several reasons for this, and they all played together. The first is a humanitarian reason, because people who live in territories not controlled by Kyiv are deprived of their rights as citizens. The opportunity to obtain Russian citizenship will change the situation and strengthen their rights.
Secondly, I think that, despite the fact that Zelensky has not yet become president, there has not been an inauguration yet, there were a lot of negative statements from him and his team that contradicted the spirit and letter of the Minsk agreements.
There is also the fact that people did not vote in the Ukrainian elections, were deprived of such an opportunity, and it seems to me that this also played a role, because Russia has repeatedly emphasized that residents of Donbass cannot exercise their rights as full-fledged Ukrainian citizens. This step is aimed at somehow compensating for this moment.
In general, Moscow confirms that it has a rather tough position towards Ukraine; Russia gives an unambiguous signal that it expects Ukraine to understand how the political block of the Minsk agreements will be implemented, and that it is Russia that expects reciprocal steps from Ukraine.
The Ukrainian authorities should not be under the illusion that Ukraine should expect some reciprocal steps from Russia. The Kremlin is waiting for compromises, and Kyiv should not wait for them,” said Oleg Ignatov.
Putin made it clear what he expects from Zelensky.