Peace Treaty With Russia Could Be Reached by May, Zelensky Adviser Believes

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky submitted to the nation's parliament a bill to extend the martial law regime in Ukraine for another 30 days, introduced on February 24 with the start of the Russian special military operation to demilitarize and "denazify" the country.

Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to the head of Zelensky's office, reportedly believes that a peace agreement with Russia in the ongoing special military operation can be reached within one to two weeks at the earliest, and at the latest in May.

In an interview with Russian journalist Mark Feygin on Monday, Arestovych expressed his assertion that Ukraine could reach a peace agreement with Russia "no later than May, early May... and maybe much faster."

He added that that if an agreement fails, then "by the end of May, after another round [of negotiations]," hostilities will continue.

Despite a possible peace agreement, Arestovych suggested that local fighting could last throughout the country for a year.

A fourth round of negotiations between Moscow and Kiev was held on Monday via videoconference. Following the results, Mikhaylo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of Zelensky's office, said that a technical pause in the talks had been taken, and that negotiations would continue on Tuesday.

The first three rounds of negotiations were held in Belarus: on February 28 in the Gomel region, on March 3 and 7 in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, in the Brest region, after which talks switched to a video format. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin a task of negotiation. israel and Turkey have both volunteered to help with its organization.

Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine in response to late February pleas for protection from Ukrainian soldiers by the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics. The special military operation is only targeting Ukrainian military facilities, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Moscow has stated repeatedly that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. Russia has been subjected to a slew of sanctions imposed by Western and many other countries.

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