Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said this Friday (24) he was in favor of resuming peace negotiations with Ukraine, although he expressed doubts about the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose mandate for which he was elected has expired. on May 20th. For its part, Kiev expressed skepticism with the proposal.
“Peace negotiations must be resumed, not with an ultimatum, but with common sense,” Putin said at a press conference in Minsk, capital of Belarus.
Putin invited Ukraine to return to the negotiating table, but warned that the ultimate goal of the talks must be “the signing of legally binding documents.”
He stated that Ukraine already signed such a document at the end of March 2022, in Istanbul, but withdrew the signature under pressure from the West.
“Once again, there is talk of a return to negotiations. May they return! But let them come back not based on what one side wants, but based on the current situation on the ground. We are ready,” he declared.
Putin asked: “Whom to negotiate with? This is not a trivial issue. Russia is aware that the legitimacy of the current head of state [ucraniano] expired”, he commented.
“I believe that one of the objectives of the conference that was announced in Switzerland is for the Western community, the sponsors of the current regime in Kiev, to confirm the legitimacy of the head of state, current or not”, he analyzed.
Putin emphasized that when the time comes, Moscow must be “absolutely sure” that it is in dialogue with a “legitimate power.” Elections in Ukraine were suspended because the country’s Constitution states that they should not be held in times of war.
Putin made this statement at a time when Russian troops are gaining ground both in the Donbass and on the second front that the Russian Army has opened, in the northeast region of Kharkiv.
In response, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba attributed Putin’s supposed willingness to fear that the Peace Summit to be mediated by Kiev in Switzerland in June would be successful.
“Why are Russian sources suddenly telling the press that Putin is ready to stop the war with the current battlefield lines? It’s simple. Putin is desperately trying to derail the June 15-16 Peace Summit in Switzerland,” Kuleba wrote on his X social media account.
The Ukrainian foreign minister was referring to international press reports that cited four Russian sources as saying that Putin would be willing to halt hostilities if Ukraine and the West agreed to freeze the conflict.
Kuleba said that “Putin has no intention, at the moment, of stopping aggression against Ukraine.” According to the Ukrainian minister, the Russian dictator fears that the Swiss summit will result in a message of “unity” from “a global majority” that will force him to “choose peace over war”.
“This is what the Peace Summit aims to achieve. And that’s what he fears,” Kuleba reiterated.
With the summit in Switzerland, Ukraine seeks to gain the support of as many world leaders as possible for its so-called Peace Formula, a ten-point document that calls for, among other things, the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, the release of all prisoners of war and the restoration of energy and food security threatened by the Russian invasion.
“Their surroundings send these false signals of their supposed readiness for a ceasefire, despite the fact that Russian troops continue to brutally attack Ukraine, while their missiles and drones fall on Ukrainian cities and communities,” Kuleba added.
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