Russian President Vladimir Putin said this Friday (06/14/2024) that he will negotiate with Ukraine if it withdraws its troops from the four regions that Moscow claims and if kyiv renounces joining NATO, while rejecting the peace summit organized in Switzerland to which Russia was not invited.
“As soon as kyiv (…) begins the effective withdrawal of troops (from the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia), and as soon as it notifies that it abandons its plans to join NATO, we will immediately give the order ceasefire and we will start negotiations,” Putin told Foreign Ministry officials.
These demands constitute a de facto request for Ukraine’s surrender, the objective of which is to maintain its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
In September 2022, Putin proclaimed the illegal annexation of the four regions of eastern and southern Ukraine, in addition to Crimea in 2014. The Russian president insisted that Ukraine must hand over all of these territories to Russia, although Moscow only partially occupies them.
He also denigrated the peace summit, from which Russia was excluded, which is being held in Switzerland on June 15 and 16 at the initiative of Ukraine. It is a “ploy to divert the attention of the entire world” from those truly responsible for the conflict who are, according to him, the Western countries and the authorities in kyiv.
“Without Russia’s participation and without an honest and responsible dialogue with us, it is impossible to achieve a peaceful solution in Ukraine and for the security of Europe in general,” Putin said.
rr (afp/ap)
