UPDATE - ADDS MORE PUTIN'S REMARKS, WITHOUT CHANGING LEDE, HEADLINE AND DECK
By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, for the first time, outlined Russia's conditions for ending the war in Ukraine and starting peace talks.
Speaking at a meeting with Russian Foreign Ministry employees in Moscow, Putin said that Russia will "immediately" cease combat operations if Ukraine abandons its intentions to join NATO and withdraws its troops from the country’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions – four eastern regions that Russia said it annexed in 2022, in a move generally not recognized by the international community.
Putin emphasized that his proposal aimed to end the conflict, not simply freeze it.
Kyiv must recognize Russia's sovereignty over the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions, and these "new territorial realities" should be recognized globally, he stressed.
Putin demanded that the rights, freedoms, and interests of Russian-speaking citizens in Ukraine be fully protected, as well as that all Western sanctions against Russia be lifted.
"Today, we have put forward another concrete, genuine peace proposal. If Kyiv and Western capitals reject it as they have in the past, they will bear political and moral responsibility for ‘the continuation of the bloodshed,’" he stated.
"As soon as Ukraine begins withdrawing troops from Donbas and Novorossiya (in those regions) and undertakes not to join NATO, the Russian Federation will cease fire and be ready for negotiations. I don't think it will take long," he added.
He said Russia continues to insist on Ukraine's demilitarization and denazification, as agreed upon at the March 2022 peace talks in Istanbul. These terms limit the number of heavy weapons and other military equipment that can be deployed in the country.
"Russia offers an option that will truly end the war in Ukraine. We call for turning over this tragic page of history and, even if it is difficult, beginning to rebuild trust and good neighborly relations between Russia, Ukraine, and Europe as a whole," he said.
The president criticized the West for its "hypocritical" stance, saying that while forbidding Kyiv from initiating peace talks with Russia, the West simultaneously encouraged Moscow to do so.
"It just looks idiotic. On the one hand, they forbid negotiations with us, but on the other, they call us to negotiate while hinting that we will refuse," he noted.
He urged the West to persuade Ukraine to lift its self-imposed ban on peace talks with Russia, saying, "We are ready to sit down at the negotiating table tomorrow."
The Russian president warned that the situation on the battlefield could change unfavorably for Kyiv, and if this happens, "the conditions for starting negotiations will be different."
Putin hinted that he does not consider Volodymyr Zelenskyy to be Ukraine’s legitimate president after his term expired on May 20, and identified the nation's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, as the only legitimate authority.
"We understand all the peculiarities of the legal situation, but there are legitimate authorities there, even in accordance with the Constitution, I just said this, there is someone to negotiate with. Please, we are ready," he said.
Russia launched the war on Feb. 24, 2022. In light of the war, Ukraine declared martial law, which does not allow presidential elections to be held.
Before the war began, Ukrainian hopes of joining NATO were seen as distant, though they have grown more serious in light of the conflict.
Putin’s announcement came a day after G7 nations announced a new $50 billion loan package for Ukraine and Washington and Kyiv signed a 10-year security deal, seeking to underline that Western support for the embattled country will continue indefinitely.
- International conference on Ukraine
Commenting on the high-level international conference on Ukraine in Switzerland, Putin noted that it was planned "immediately after the Group of Seven summit,” and alleged that “the group responsible for igniting the conflict in Ukraine."
"What the organizers propose is a distraction, reversing the cause and effect of the Ukrainian crisis, and giving undue legitimacy to the current Ukrainian government," he argued.
Putin expects the event will devolve into "general demagogic conversations and new accusations against Russia."
"The goal is clear — to involve as many states as possible and present it as if the entire international community supports Western policies, implying that Russia must accept them," he said.
Russia is not invited because the meeting is not about negotiations but about advancing a specific agenda that affects Russia's interests and security, according to the president.