Putin refuses “artificial truce” and conveys that Moscow will not accept “time-buying ploys”
Russian President Vladimir Putin rejects the idea of a “artificial truce” in Ukraine and claims that Moscow only wants a “true peace“, the Kremlin said on Monday. The statements come in the context of intensifying international consultations on a possible peace plan proposed by the United States.
Vladimir Putin blocks the idea of a truce and sets conditions for peace PHOTO: AFP
“President Putin is open to peace, real peace, serious decisions, and what he totally rejects are stratagems to buy time and create artificial truces”said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for the Russian presidency, in the daily telephone press conference.
Peskov declined to speculate on the possibility of reaching an agreement on the basis of the US peace plan by the end of this year, as US President Donald Trump would demand, according to media reports. “I dare not talk about deadlines. That would be the most thankless task right now“, he said, according to Agerpres.
At the same time, the representative of the Kremlin appreciated the involvement of the American administration in diplomatic efforts. “Trump is working sincerely for a solution (…) and is making every effort to achieve it. And so is his team. We greatly appreciate those efforts“, said Peskov.
Ukraine's accession to NATO, “a cornerstone” for Moscow
Referring to Russia's opposition to Ukraine's accession to NATO, Peskov emphasized that this “is one of the cornerstones” of the negotiation process and that the subject requires “a special talk”.
In this context, the US president's special representative for peacekeeping missions, Steve Witkoff, said on Sunday that progress had been made “considerably” in the negotiations held in Berlin with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Consultations continued on Monday.
After the meeting at the German Chancellery, which lasted over five hours, Witkoff wrote on the X platform that discussions had taken place “INSIGHTS” regarding the 20-point peace plan.
The Kremlin warns of changes to the peace plan
The Kremlin rejected in advance, on Sunday, the changes introduced by Ukraine and European states to the initial peace plan presented by the White House. “If significant changes are made, we will have very strong objections”Yuri Ushakov, the Kremlin's international policy adviser, told Russian state television.
He stated that the objections could concern “many points”. “There will be clauses there that are absolutely unacceptable to us, including regarding the territorial issue”Ushakov explained.
“The territorial issue was actively discussed in Moscow. And the Americans not only know, but also understand our position. I do not know what will come out on paper after those consultations. But it will not be anything good“, the Kremlin adviser concluded.
