 "Putin rejects concessions on Ukrainian territory in response to revised peace plan")
Russian President Vladimir Putin has responded to the amended peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war, asserting that Kyiv has to surrender territory to make any deal successful. He confirmed that the version of the plan discussed between the US and Ukraine has been shared with Moscow.
“In general, we agree that this can be the basis for future agreements. “We see that the American side takes our position into account in some areas. But in other points, we clearly need to sit down and talk,” Putin said.
The Russian president’s hardline comments, once more portraying Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “illegitimate”, indicated that, contrary to the White House’s hopeful tone, meaningful progress on the key issues required to halt the conflict remains elusive.
While the Russian leader remains sceptical of the plan that once favoured Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has welcomed it, saying that Kyiv has reached "an understanding" with the US on the agreement.
The proposal is part of President Donald Trump’s 28-point peace plan, which US and Ukrainian officials extensively discussed over the weekend to suit Kyiv’s interests better.
‘We will stop fighting if…’
Talking to reporters during a visit to Kyrgyzstan, Putin said that Russian forces will cease their operation if Ukraine agrees to withdraw from unspecified regions currently under Kyiv’s control.
“If Ukrainian troops leave the territories they occupy, then we will stop fighting. If they don’t, we will achieve our aims militarily,” he said.
Putin said that the US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is scheduled to visit Russia early next week, and he brushed aside claims that Witkoff had favoured Moscow during peace talks, dismissing them as “nonsense”.
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View All‘Illegitimate’
The Russian president on Thursday asserted that Ukraine’s current leadership lacks legitimacy and argued that there is no point in entering into any agreements with it.
He claimed that the authorities in Kyiv lost their mandate after opting not to hold elections following the end of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s term. Ukraine maintains that nationwide polls cannot be conducted under martial law while the country continues to defend itself against Russia.
Putin said that he considered the Ukrainian leadership to be illegitimate and so it was legally impossible to sign a deal with Ukraine; so it was important to ensure any agreement was recognised by the international community and that the international community recognised Russian gains in Ukraine.
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