Source: EPA
June 14, 2024, 14:16 +03
Updated 46 minutes ago
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia could immediately begin peace talks with Ukraine if the preconditions were met. Ukraine responded to the Russian leader’s statement by saying that the conditions were not considered a serious commitment and that it was “impossible to find a middle ground” with Ukraine’s expectations.
Putin, in a statement at the Russian Foreign Ministry, said talks could be held if Ukrainian forces fully withdraw from the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions and if Ukraine commits not to joining NATO.
Putin said that if preconditions were met, Russia could immediately halt the offensive and the safe withdrawal of Ukrainian forces would be guaranteed.
Mykhailo Podolyakh, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, argued that Putin’s comments were not a serious commitment to peace and said it was impossible to “find a middle ground” on the terms Putin had set out.
Podoljak told Reuters the conditions announced by Putin had nothing to do with the negotiations.
Zelensky’s advisers explained that it was impossible to find a compromise between the Russian leader’s rhetoric and the conditions for ending the war in Ukraine.
Russia has annexed Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, but does not currently fully occupy any of them.
Recently, other reports appeared in Western media claiming that Putin is ready to end the war in Ukraine.
Reuters reported in February that Putin’s ceasefire proposal had been rejected by the United States.
In May, the network reported, citing senior Russian sources, that Putin was ready to end the war based on the progress made so far on the Ukrainian front.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would never accept Russian control over Ukrainian territory.
Putin said a meeting with the speaker of Ukraine’s parliament was possible as Zelenskiy’s term ends in May.
Putin responds to G7 agreement to freeze Russian assets: ‘Theft is theft’
The Russia-Ukraine war was one of the main topics on the agenda at the G7 summit in Italy.
G7 leaders agreed on Thursday to provide Ukraine with a $50 billion loan secured by profits from frozen Russian assets.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the value of Russian assets frozen by the EU and G7 countries approached $325 billion. The assets generate interest of about $3 billion per year.
According to the G7 plan, the $3 billion will be used to pay annual interest on $50 billion in loans received for Ukraine from the international market.
Putin also touched on the issue in his speech on Friday, when the Russian leader said Western leaders were trying to find “some legal basis” for freezing the assets, saying, “Despite all the subterfuge, theft is theft and it will not go unpunished.”
Putin claimed Moscow’s treatment was proof that “everyone” could face asset freezes in future.
A 10-year bilateral security agreement between Ukraine and the United States was also signed at the summit.
The agreement calls for the United States to provide military and training assistance to Ukraine, but the United States has not committed to sending troops to fight for its ally.
The G7 group of nations – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States – has been one of Ukraine’s key financial and military backers in its fight against Russian forces.
