On the eve of the Peace Summit in Switzerland, to which Russia was not invited, the Russian president said that for peace talks to begin Ukrainian troops must completely withdraw from four of its regions. Also, Kyiv must declare that it has no plans to join NATO.
In response, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin emphasized that the Kremlin dictator illegally occupied the territory of a sovereign state. Therefore, Putin is not in a position to dictate to Ukraine what it should do to establish peace. The head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, emphasized that Russia should be the one to withdraw its troops from the illegally occupied territories.
EU High Representative Josep Borrell believes Putin’s unacceptable demands are intended to legitimize the invasion and undermine peace efforts while Russia rearms and prepares for a protracted war. “The aggressor cannot dictate the ceasefire terms,” he summarized.
In Ukraine, Putin’s statement was called an attempt to derail the Peace Summit. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed a similar opinion: “This is not a serious proposal, but it is related to the peace conference.”