by R.W. Napper, A Gentleman from Tennessee
R.W. Napper is a life-long resident of Nashville, Tennessee. He is holder of a bachelor’s and master’s degree in history. He is a retired educator and businessman who has taught on the high school and college level. He has published a non-fiction book entitled Trustworthy and True: The Unfolding of Prophecy Upon the Pages of History and a fictional work entitled Kalb Hollow: A Nashville Story. Both are available on Amazon.
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The war in Ukraine has been raging for over three years resulting in tens of thousands of casualties on each side. The war has become a stalemate with forces facing each other in eastern Ukraine reminiscent of the trench warfare of World War I. Each side is reportedly losing approximately a thousand troops per day. The monetary cost of the war has been astronomical with the United States and NATO nations sending billions of dollars of aid to Ukraine. Over the past few weeks, both Putin of Russia and Zelensky of Ukraine have voiced a willingness to negotiate peace. Zelensky has said that he is open to trading land for peace. Putin has indicated that he is willing to talk. Should negotiations occur, what would a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine look like?
The American media and others have voiced the belief that Russia will not be satisfied until a puppet government under Russian control is established in Ukraine. The media and others have also voiced the belief that success in Ukraine will motivate Putin to invade other neighbors in his quest to re-establish the old Russian Empire. Although Putin would like to return Russia to past prominence, the Ukraine War has surely given him a dose of reality. Russia has failed to seize Ukraine, and the Russian military has been exposed as a fighting force that would be no match for NATO. This writer believes that Russian attempts at further expansion are unrealistic. In order for peace negotiations to be successful, the real sticking points between Russia and Ukraine must be addressed. These points are (1) control of the Crimean Peninsula, and (2) Ukraine’s possible entry into the NATO alliance.
Any successful peace agreement should include the following framework:
l. Russia must recognize the pre-invasion borders of Ukraine and withdraw all military forces within those borders.
2. Ukraine must recognize the Crimea as an integral part of Russia and renounce all claims to that region. It should be noted that the Crimea was a part of Russia from 1768 until 1954 when Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev transferred administration of Crimea from Russia to Ukraine. One must also note that the people of the Crimea are Russian in nationality, language, and culture.
3. Russia must recognize Ukraine’s sovereign right to enter into the NATO alliance and into any other treaty or agreement that it chooses.
4. Parts of Ukraine east of the Dnieper River on the Russian border are populated by people who are culturally Russian. These areas should be identified, and elections should occur in those regions to determine if they should remain in Ukraine or become a part of Russia.
5. Ukraine and Russia must agree to a mutual non-aggression pact and agree to a demilitarized zone along their border. The zone should remain until the two nations can assume normal relations.
6. Russia must agree to bear a partial burden in the cost of rebuilding Ukrainian buildings and infrastructure. A dollar value should be negotiated, agreed upon, and paid immediately. Such payment will be final.
Peace and stability require both parties to realize that there must be mutual “give and take” in negotiations. Perhaps a third party such as Switzerland could play host to peace talks.