219. Simon Smith - Territorial Concessions by Ukraine Would Simply Reward Russian Crimes and Aggression.

GUEST: Simon Smith - Ukraine Forum chair of steering committee, Chatham House ---------- Any territorial concessions by Ukraine in a peace agreement with Russia will reward crimes and aggression. They will encourage, not end, Russia’s attacks on countries in its neighbourhood and elsewhere in Europe. The belief that Russia and Ukraine need to strike a deal (see preceding chapter) is frequently accompanied by the belief that a settlement has to include some Ukrainian territory being conceded to Russia, because Russia won’t settle for an outcome that does not include territorial gains. In this view, Crimea is often presented as the least problematic potential concession for Ukraine: supposedly a post-Soviet ‘grey area’ in terms of recognized borders. ---------- SPEAKER: Simon Smith chairs the steering committee of the Ukraine Forum at Chatham House. He retired in January 2022 from a 35-year career in the UK diplomatic service. He served in London, Tokyo, Moscow, Vienna as the UK Governor at the IAEA, was the Perm Rep to UN in Vienna and HM Ambassador to Austria, in Kyiv as HM Ambassador to Ukraine and in Seoul as HM Ambassador to South Korea. He has also served as Director, Russia, South Caucasus, and C Asia, at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and as Head of NE Asia & Pacific Department at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. ---------- LINKS: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/06/how-end-russias-war-ukraine