Putin Offers Ceasefire if Kyiv Withdraws Troops from Occupied Regions
Vladimir Putin has outlined Russia's conditions for initiating peace talks with Ukraine. He stated that Russia would be ready for such talks "tomorrow" if Ukrainian troops withdrew from the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions and if Ukraine abandoned its plans to join NATO.
Putin emphasized that if Ukraine met these conditions, Russia would cease fire and commence negotiations. "The conditions are very simple," he said.
He elaborated: "As soon as Kyiv agrees to this decision, begins the actual withdrawal of forces from these regions, and officially renounces plans to join NATO, we will immediately, literally within the same minute, issue an order to stop the fire and start negotiations.
"We will do it immediately. Naturally, we will ensure the safe and uninterrupted withdrawal of Ukrainian forces."
However, it's important to note that Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pledged to liberate all occupied regions from Russian control and has stipulated that all Russian forces must leave Ukraine as a condition for any peace deal.
Putin has also mentioned that his army's advance towards the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in 2022 was intended to pressure Ukraine into agreeing to a peace deal. He claimed there was no plan to storm Kyiv.
Source:
https://news.sky.com/
Image:
https://news.sky.com/
