President Putin says ceasefire in Ukraine impossible
Russia cannot declare a ceasefire in the hope of positive steps from Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.
In addition, Putin called it impossible to end the conflict with Ukraine through intermediaries. “We have always been in favor of negotiations, you know this well, we have never refused them. The only question is that it seems unlikely to me to finally end the conflict with the help of intermediaries and only through them,” the Russian president said.
Putin spoke about the moment of ceasefire in Ukraine in 2022
A ceasefire in Ukraine is impossible without reaching an agreement on negotiations, Putin believes. According to the president, this will be impossible as long as there is a possibility that Kyiv will use the break to build up its military equipment in order to continue the military conflict again later. Russia cannot agree to a ceasefire only “in the hope that the other side will take some positive steps,” Putin concludes.
We need to ensure that the opposing side agrees to take steps that are irreversible and acceptable to the Russian Federation. A ceasefire without reaching this agreement is impossible.
Putin also said that in 2022, Russia was offered to withdraw its troops from Kyiv in order to begin creating conditions for consolidating a peace agreement. “We did this. And again we were faced with deception. All the agreements reached in Istanbul were thrown into the trash,” the president continues.
Photo: Evgeny Biyatov / RIA Novosti
In addition, Putin told reporters that when Russian troops were near Kiev in 2022, the West asked for a ceasefire. According to the Russian president, Western countries insisted on a ceasefire “so that certain actions would be taken by the Ukrainian side.”
“And we did it. But the Ukrainian side did not stop the military actions. Then we were told that the Ukrainian official authorities cannot control all their armed formations,” the Russian president said. He added that there are formations in Ukraine that do not obey the central authorities.
Zelensky also rejected the idea of a ceasefire
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was rejecting a ceasefire proposal by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to begin talks with Russia on resolving the conflict. The Ukrainian leader said Russia could use the ceasefire to build up its forces and go on the offensive again.
Photo: Evgeny Biyatov / RIA Novosti
He stressed that a halt to hostilities is only possible if a clear plan is created for what will happen next. Such an agreement can only be reached on an international platform and in the presence of countries whose “leaders are trusted.”
At the same time, Zelensky allowed Putin to participate in the next “peace summit.” He also discussed a “just end” to the Ukrainian conflict, expressing the opinion that this requires joint efforts by the United States and China. According to Zelensky, the leaders of the two countries could become mediators if they “put aside their differences.” He added that the Chinese side could put pressure on Moscow to end military action in Ukraine.
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