Events in Ukraine are unfolding rapidly and catastrophically. The NPPE had warned about a possible war for years, which it had tried to prevent. The NPPE will always be part of Ukrainian people and state and make every effort to protect it.
However, we know that sooner or later peace will come. All of us will have to live and restore our country in a spirit of new civic identity and solidarity.
With that in mind, we respectfully ask the Presidents of Ukraine and the Russian Federation to consider our proposals and accept our help.
📣 We suggest:
1. Starting negotiations on a humanitarian ceasefire that would allow for evacuating the civilian population, providing help to the wounded, collecting the bodies of the dead, searching for the missing, and an exchange of prisoners.
2. Appealing to the President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping, President of the United States of America Joe Biden, Prime Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett, President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron, and Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Olaf Scholz, to lead the peace negotiation process.
This negotiation process should rest on four pillars and provide mutual benefits with respect to: 1️⃣security, 2️⃣ settlement, 3️⃣democracy, 4️⃣restoration - an international treaty should give security guarantees for Ukraine by the nuclear states and UN Security Council, facilitate the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Ukraine in exchange for its neutral status; remove all restrictions on economic, political and cultural cooperation; provide clear prospect for Ukraine's accession into the European Union; joint financing for the restoration of Ukraine. The formula is that Ukraine would abandon its aspiration for NATO membership in exchange for EU membership. This would provide security for all.
We also urge establishing an international commission to oversee Ukraine’s stabilization and reconstruction.
3. Initiating signing a treaty between Ukraine and the Russian Federation "On Settlement” to replace the expired agreement "On Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership.” This would cover military, political, economic, social, and humanitarian issues of mutual interest.
4. Launching an all-Ukrainian political dialogue decentralization and regional reform, reintegration and reconciliation based on the notion of liberalising a political life and delegation of sensitive humanitarian issues (history, religion, language) to the regional and self-governance level; holding referenda. Implementing a Humanitarian Strategy on Reunification of Ukraine elaborated by academic community, deputies of different levels, representatives of local councils, human rights lawyers, experts, wide youth community.
5. Beginning a “horizontal” and ongoing dialogue between representatives of key social groups in Ukraine, the Russian Federation and Donbass - public diplomacy - between teachers, doctors, employees of communal structures, pensioners, leaders of organizations involved in the social protection of citizens in order to develop new solidarity among citizens.
The National Platform for Reconciliation and Unity is ready to take the lead, assist in organizing negotiations and policies, and produce documents relevant to these undertakings.
Every war ends. Sooner or later, but it ends. All of us must end it and prepare for the future. The key task for all of us is to remain human beings when the war is over and staying aware of the prospect and ‘depth’ of the history which we all will be part of.
Today soldiers and people gain time and negotiation positions for the politicians. Every lost minute is someone’s life, every hour means dozens of lives.
We call on all Ukrainians to support this appeal!
