Putin ready to discuss ceasefire in Ukraine with Trump, but on own terms - media
This was reported by Reuters with reference to five current and former Russian officials, Ukrinform reports.
According to interlocutors, Putin may generally agree to freeze the conflict along the existing front lines. At the same time, three sources noted that options for dividing the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, which Russia now claims its own but does not fully control are on the table.
Russia may also be open to withdrawing from the relatively small patches of territory it controls in Kharkiv and Mykolaiv regions, the two officials said. At the same time, Russia’s stance on Crimea remains unchanged as Moscow insists the peninsula shall not be the subject of negotiations, Russian officials said.
Other concessions from Ukraine that the Kremlin could press for include Kyiv capping the size of its armed forces and committing not to restrict the use of the Russian language.
"While Russia will not tolerate Ukraine joining NATO, or the presence of NATO troops on Ukrainian soil, it is open to discussing security guarantees for Kyiv, according to the five current and former officials.," writes Reuters.
However, according to sources, the U.S. permission for Ukraine to launch long-range strikes on targets inside Russia could delay any settlement – and stiffen Moscow's demands.
If no ceasefire is reached, Russia will fight on, the two sources said.
At the same time, the spokesman for the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the Reuters report, told Russian media that the freezing of war in Ukraine is "unacceptable" for Russia. According to him, Putin "really repeatedly, or rather, constantly declares that he is ready for contacts and negotiations." "The president (Putin - ed.) has also already spoken that some option of freezing this conflict will not suit us, it is important for us to achieve our goal, which everyone is well aware of," Peskov said.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky said peace talks between Ukraine and Russia would be possible only under the conditions where Ukraine is strong and not standing alone against Russia, and to this end, the support from international partners, in particular the United States, is critical.
Zelenskyi also believes Putin would benefit only from negotiating on certain conditions of capitulation from Ukraine’s side, but no one will allow this to happen.
The U.S. State Department reiterated the U.S. position and that of their allies and partners on potential peace talks: it is that Kyiv that should decide when to start such talks and in what parameters to conduct them.
