During a televised address with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other senior Russian diplomats, Putin rejected claims of Ukrainian sovereignty over five regions now controlled by Moscow, and said that Kyiv must remove its troops from these regions as a prerequisite to peace talks beginning. He also stressed that the longstanding red line of Ukraine not joining NATO must not be crossed in order to ensure lasting peace in the region. Putin promised to “immediately” order a ceasefire in Ukraine and begin negotiations if Ukraine began a troop withdrawal and relinquished plans to join NATO. The proposal is aimed at orchestrating a “final resolution” of the conflict, not simply “freezing” it. Merely freezing the hostilities, he argued, would allow the U.S. and its Western allies to re-arm and re-build Ukraine’s military. “I stress: the entire territory of those regions as defined by their administrative borders at the time they joined Ukraine [in August 1991],” Putin said. “Our side will order a ceasefire and start negotiations the minute Kiev declares that it is prepared to take this decision and starts actual withdrawal of troops from those regions, and also formally informs us that it no longer plans to join NATO.”Russian President Vladimir Putin is setting up an off-ramp to Ukraine and the West, putting forth a proposal to end the ongoing conflict, which has raged since February 2022.
⚡️ President Putin outlines conditions for peace
- Ukrainian troops must withdraw from the entire territory of the new Russian regions
- Kiev must declare there are no plans to join NATO
- As soon as Ukraine takes these steps Russia will ceasefire and be ready to negotiate pic.twitter.com/bKzkOA4SYD
— RT (@RT_com) June 14, 2024
He also included Ukraine recognizing Crimea as part of Russia, keeping Ukraine as a non-nuclear country, and protecting the interests of the Russian-speaking population as part of the deal.
“We are counting on Kiev to take such a decision on withdrawal, neutral status, and dialogue with Russia, on which the future existence of Ukraine depends, independently based on the current realities and guided by the true interests of the Ukrainian people and not at Western orders,” Putin said.
"In the future, all those basic principled positions have to be enshrined in fundamental international agreements. Naturally, that includes the lifting of all Western sanctions against Russia,” Putin added.
