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Putin Sets Stringent Conditions for Ukraine Peace Talks, Including Four Regions and NATO, Kyiv Rejects

Jun 14, 2024, 12:40 PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin has outlined stringent conditions for peace talks with Ukraine, demanding the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from four eastern regions—Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia—currently partially occupied by Russian forces. Additionally, Putin insists on Ukraine renouncing its ambitions to join NATO, adopting neutrality, de-militarisation, de-nazification, the lifting of all Western sanctions against Russia, and the recognition of the annexed territories as part of Russia. Ukrainian officials, including Presidential Aide Mikhail Podolyak and Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksandr Lytvynenko, have categorically rejected these demands, labeling them as unacceptable and not a genuine attempt at negotiation. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has also dismissed the proposals as absurd, emphasizing that they undermine genuine peace efforts.