Putin presents conditions to cease fire in the war with Ukraine

The conditions of the Russian President, for the end of the war in including a written guarantee that Western leaders interrupt the expansion of to the east. The requirement is in the proposal of ceasefire that has committed it to elaborate in conjunction with Ukraine, according to Russian sources. Authorities in Moscow said they had completed the memorandum and proposed yesterday a second round of direct negotiations in Istanbul on Monday. They promised to deliver to the Ukrainians the text with the preconditions for an agreement. In response, Ukraine said he was willing to participate, but asked Russia to hand over her conditions in advance. NATO is the military alliance created by Western powers in 1949 to face the Soviet Union and provides for mutual defense in case of attack on any of its members.

Several neighbors from Russia and former Soviet republics, such as Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, are part of the organization. Putin used Ukan’s possible adhesion to NATO as one of the main reasons for justifying the country’s invasion in 2022, although there is no evidence that Kiev would join the covenant in the near future. The content of the memorandum was not made public. The sources consulted by Reuters-three members of the Russian government with access to the negotiations-said, however, that the proposal for Putin’s ceasefire also asks the West to suspend part of the sanctions imposed on Russia.

Moscow also requires the neutrality of Ukraine, a resolution of the issue of freezing Russian sovereign assets in the West and protection for “Russian language speakers in Ukraine,” the sources said. “Putin is ready to make peace, but not at any price,” said one of the sources cited by the agency, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Obstacle

The requirements can further complicate negotiations for a ceasefire than the US President, seeks to mediate since assuming his second term, he has often said the desire to end the most lethal European conflict since World War II and showed that he was more aligned with Putin than with the president of Ukraine ,. Recently, however, the American has shown frustration with Putin. On Tuesday, Trump said the Russian was “playing with fire” as he refused to start negotiations with Kiev, while his forces were advanced on the battlefield. Over the weekend, he indicated to be considering new sanctions against Moscow. Yesterday, however, it minimized the possibility and said it would know in two weeks if Putin is committed to the end of the war. “If I think I’m close to closing a deal, I don’t want to spoil it by doing so (imposing sanctions),” he said.

After talking to Trump for more than two hours last week, Putin said he agreed to work with Ukraine in a memorandum for a peace agreement that would have been completed yesterday. Kiev and European governments accuse Moscow to delay a pact to allow their troops to advance in eastern Ukraine. The first direct negotiations between the two governments since 2022, on the 16th, also held in Istanbul, did not lead to any significant progress for a diplomatic solution of the conflict

Veto

Ukrainians claim that Russia should not have veto power over their aspirations to join NATO, which would be a security guarantee, capable of dissuading any future Russian attack. NATO also said in the past that it will not change its “open doors” policy just because Moscow demands. A 32-member alliance spokesman did not answer Reuters’ questions.

Russia currently controls just under one fifth of Ukraine. Although advances have accelerated last year, the war is costing Russians and Ukrainians in terms of casualties and military spending. Reuters reported in January that Putin was increasingly concerned about the Russian economy in times of war amid the scarcity of labor and the high interest rates imposed to contain inflation.

*With information from Estadão Contents and International Agencies
Posted by Fernando Dias