Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his willingness to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine that recognizes the current front lines, Russian sources informed of the matter revealed to Reuters. Furthermore, he warned that he is prepared to continue fighting if kyiv and the West do not respond.
These sources, close to Putin’s entourage, indicated the president’s frustration with what he perceives as Western-backed attempts to hinder negotiations and with the decision of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to reject ceasefire talks.
“Putin can fight as long as necessary, but he is also willing to have a ceasefire,” said another senior Russian source who worked closely with the president and is aware of high-level talks in the Kremlin. Continuing along this line, when he was consulted, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reaffirmed that Russia is open to dialogue, but insists that any negotiations must be based on “new realities on the ground.”
For their part, Ukraine’s foreign and defense ministries did not respond to questions. Meanwhile, Zelensky – with the support of his Western allies – is preparing talks in Switzerland to seek an international consensus on ending the war, although Russia was not invited. Both kyiv and its allies continue to consider that accepting Putin’s current conditions would mean legitimizing the Russian occupation of parts of Ukraine, an unacceptable position for the country, which remains committed to recovering all of its territory, including Crimea.
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