Vladimir Putin conditions peace negotiations on the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops in four regions

Vladimir Putin affirmed, Friday June 14, that he will negotiate with Ukraine in the event of withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the four regions he claims and when kyiv has given up joining NATO. The Russian president thus brushes aside the peace summit organized in Switzerland on June 15 and 16, to which Moscow was not invited. Claims very quickly rejected by kyiv. “We must get rid of these illusions and stop taking seriously ‘Russia’s proposals’ which clash with common sense”reacted Mykhailo Podoliak, advisor to the Ukrainian presidency, on X.

“As soon as kyiv (…) begins the effective withdrawal of troops [des régions de Donetsk, Lougansk, Kherson et Zaporijjia]and that it will notify the abandonment of its plan to join NATO, we will immediately, at this very minute, give the order to cease fire and begin negotiations., declared Putin in front of the executives of the Russian Foreign Ministry. These demands constitute a de facto request for surrender from Ukraine, the objective of which is to maintain its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Vladimir Putin proclaimed in September 2022 the annexation of the four regions of eastern and southern Ukraine, in addition to that of Crimea in 2014. The Russian president specified that Ukraine must hand over to Russia all these territories, even though Moscow only partially occupies them.