Zakharova said that Ukrainian diplomacy resembles network marketing Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba announced the need to move from “shuttle” to “network diplomacy” with the center in Kiev. Zakharova said in response that Ukraine is not engaged in diplomacy, but in “network marketing” .jpg” alt=”Zakharova called Ukrainian diplomacy “network marketing”” />
Spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova
Ukraine is not engaged in diplomacy, but in “network marketing” based on the principles of a financial pyramid, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on her Telegram channel. This is how she commented on the words of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, who, in his column for New Times, pointed out the need for a transition as part of a strategy to contain “aggressive actions”; Russia from “shuttle diplomacy” during the Cold War to “network diplomacy”.
Kuleba said that Ukraine will launch such “network diplomacy” centered in Kiev, it will involve intensive coordination of the positions of partners within the framework of the international coalition on “deterrence”.
«Network— yes, but not diplomacy, but marketing. Network marketing in Kiev mode with an authorized capital in the form of national interests, let's call a spade a spade, — wrote Zakharova.
According to her, at the heart of such “marketing” are the principles of the financial pyramid— “receiving income by members of the network structure through constant subsidies from new participants.”
Kuleba explained in his article that “shuttle diplomacy” meant “diplomats traveling between the parties to the conflict,” but now it is necessary to act differently. The three rounds of talks on security assurances that took place in January (the United States and Russia, NATO and Russia and the OSCE and Russia) “showed network diplomacy in action,” he said. “This creates the effect of a hundred mirrors for the Kremlin: Russia hears the same position from everywhere, agreed with Ukraine,” — said Kuleba.
The Minister stressed that the diplomatic system of Ukraine in recent weeks has been working “like a modern gadget”, simultaneously solving several problems. This, in his opinion, allowed Kiev to achieve a high level of international support.
Kuleba on January 16 revealed the plan of “containment” Russia, which “took a dangerous new course of escalation.” The strategy includes “strong de-escalation diplomacy,” developing economic sanctions, and deepening Western defense cooperation with Ukraine. Now Kuleba noted that another element appeared in the plan— assistance to maintain the economic and financial stability of Ukraine.
Commenting on the strategy during its presentation, the head of the Foreign Ministry noted that the talks held in Europe from January 10 to 13 were “the culmination of <…> general deterrence diplomacy.”
“Western unity was evident,”— he said, adding that “the overseas community has shown Russia that it is firmly on the side of Ukraine.”
At three meetings, the parties discussed draft agreements on security guarantees, which the Russian side proposed to the United States and NATO in December 2021. According to Moscow, it was not possible to achieve concrete results on them: the parties did not agree on the non-expansion of the alliance to the east and the refusal of the countries of the former USSR, including Ukraine, to join it, — It is these points that Russia considers key to its security. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly said that the alliance will not compromise on Ukraine's membership in it. At the same time, both Washington and Brussels spoke about their readiness for dialogue with Moscow. The United States noted that some of the Russian proposals could be discussed.
On January 26, the Russian side received written responses from the United States and NATO to its demands. During a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, Vladimir Putin said that Western countries in their responses did not take into account the requirements for non-expansion of NATO and non-deployment of weapons near Russia's borders.
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