Devra Maza 🌻🎗️

As negotiations resume, I want to remind all my fellow journalists that there is no such thing as a "territorial issue," a "territorial dispute," or "fundamental disagreements over Ukrainian territory" in the context of russia's war against Ukraine. There is the sovereign, internationally recognized territory of an independent nation that has been invaded by an aggressor. Whatever discussions take place regarding Donbas, journalists should use accurate terminology, such as "russian territorial ambitions," "discussions over russia's territorial demands," or "russia's aggressive territorial claims." These are not even negotiations per se. They are more accurately described as discussions in which the aggressor is essentially presenting its demands to the victim of its aggression. There should be a genuinely impartial third party mediating these talks. Instead, Europeans are being excluded from the trilateral format, while the U.S. has clearly taken russia's side. Key issue to watch: Whether negotiators can achieve concrete progress on security guarantees and de-escalation measures without legitimizing russia's occupation of Ukrainian territory or pressuring Ukraine to surrender parts of its sovereign territory as a condition for peace.