Volodymyr Ohryzko to Newsmax: No Trust Possible With Russia

There can be no "trust" between Ukraine and Russia, despite promises Russian troop operations will be cut back near the capital city of Kyiv and another city "to increase trust" during peace negotiations, a former Ukrainian minister of foreign affairs told Newsmax.

Further, Volodymyr Ohryzko told Tuesday's "National Report," Russian President Vladimir Putin is only pulling back troops because he has been beaten, and has "no other chance," not because he wants to do the right thing.

"We can say nothing about trust after these 34 days of Russian barbarism in Ukraine now," Ohryzko said. "I'm not very optimistic about today's negotiations in Istanbul, because I know that we can't trust Russia in any, in any case."

"I can tell you it is absolutely impossible to understand what Russia is willing to do until you start to use force against them," he added, noting his time as a chief official of the Ukrainian delegation in talks with Russia to withdraw the Federation's fleet from the Black Sea in the Crimean Peninsula.

"My conclusion is very simple," he continued, while still talking about the Russian troop cutbacks. "If the Ukrainian army will be successful in destroying the Russians in Ukraine, this could be only one precondition for future negotiations, which can lead to — to some extent — to some positive results."

The pullbacks come as they are once again meeting in person after several rounds of failed negotiations, but at the same time, Russia's troops have been struggling in recent days to achieve major advances against Ukraine's defense.

"They have no other choice than to pull out their troops from Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities," he said. "It's not just because Putin decided to do something positive. It's because he has no other chance."

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