Putin cynically offered to end the war in Ukraine: how have Zelenskyy and NATO reacted so far?
![Putin cynically offered to end the war in Ukraine: how have Zelenskyy and NATO reacted so far?](https://visitukraine.today/media/blog/previews/fgAt7FRpmECBdLKNs1vjurGpwWdxzMuDr20UJoxn.webp)
The head of the kremlin has said that he is ready to sit down at the negotiating table with Ukraine "at least tomorrow" and put forward an official proposal to the West. Find out what exactly putin is offering and why he spoke so sharply about the ceasefire
In his traditional cynical manner, russian dictator vladimir putin has offered to sit down at the negotiating table with Ukraine and the West. He said he could do it even "tomorrow". Here's what the russian leader said and how the Ukrainian president and NATO leaders reacted.
First of all, the russian dictator advertised his statement as "another official proposal to start peace talks". Later, he issued an even more unconventional message - putin, who has always spoken of Ukraine and the West as his enemies, called for "turning the tragic page of history and gradually restoring relations with Ukraine and Europe".
What did putin propose when he spoke of peace?
It's hard to call it a proposal, as putin's words sounded more like an ultimatum than an invitation to sit down at the negotiating table. In particular, the dictator demanded the "complete withdrawal" of Ukrainian troops from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. He emphasised that he was talking about the entire territory of these regions, not just the part occupied by russia.
"As soon as Kyiv declares that it is ready and starts a real withdrawal of troops, as well as announces its refusal to join NATO, we will immediately order a ceasefire and start negotiations. We guarantee the safe withdrawal of Ukrainian units and formations," he said.
The Kremlin chief added that the essence of the russian proposal is allegedly "not a temporary truce. It is not about freezing the conflict, but about its "final end", he said.
Zelensky reacts to putin's words
In a commentary to the Italian TV channel Sky TG24, the President of Ukraine calledr russian dictator vladimir putin's "offer" to end the war on his terms an ultimatum.
"What I can say is that these messages are ultimatums, they are no different from other ultimatums he has made before. Now we see that what he is doing is a revival of Nazism. This is a new wave of this Nazism, russian Nazism. He wants us to give up our occupied territories, but he also wants our unoccupied territories. He is talking about the regions of our country and does not intend to stop. There will be no frozen conflict," the Ukrainian president said.
Zelenskyy compared putin to Hitler, recalling that the German dictator "did the same thing when he said: give me a part of Czechoslovakia, and everything will end here" and then occupied Poland and other European territories.
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What does NATO say?
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg personally responded to putin's announcement. He said that the russian dictator's new conditions for ending the war in Ukraine really show that russia intends to intensify its aggression and increase the occupation of Ukrainian lands.
"It is not Ukraine that should withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory, it is russia that should withdraw its troops from the occupied Ukrainian land," Stoltenberg said.
At the same time, the NATO Secretary General stressed that putin's proposal really means that russia has the right to occupy even more Ukrainian land - all four regions.
Why did putin abruptly start talking about peace?
The Kremlin leader made his statement exactly one day before the Ukrainian peace summit in Switzerland, which will take place on 15-16 June. It is noteworthy that russia is not invited to the summit and is trying to undermine the effectiveness of the planned event in every possible way.
russia continues to promote the idea of alleged peace talks, through which it wants to retain all the occupied territories. At the same time, the russians continue to terrorise Ukraine, striking at energy and civilian infrastructure almost daily.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly warned about russia's attempts to disrupt the summit:
"russia will no longer be able to disrupt the Summit, although it is trying very hard to do so. It is putting pressure on leaders, openly threatening various states with destabilisation. And this is one of the consequences of the world giving the terrorist state too much time. Unfortunately, evil is adaptable and is now using its resources to split the world and prevent russia from being forced into peace. But we have about a hundred states and international organisations with us right now, joining the global effort."
We remind you! Recently, the russian president spoke again about negotiations with Ukraine. At the same time, the Western media, citing sources close to the russian dictator, also stated that he was ready to agree to a ceasefire. Read what the Kremlin leader said here.
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