President Putin: Russia is ready to end the Ukraine conflict 0
(Dan Tri) – President Vladimir Putin said Russia is ready to end the conflict in Ukraine peacefully, but there is no sign that Kiev wants this.
President Vladimir Putin (Photo: Reuters).
`People in Donbass have turned to Russia as a guarantor,` President Putin said in an interview with a program called `Moscow. Kremlin. Putin` on February 18.
`We have moved from peaceful instruments of resolution to instruments of a military nature, but then we also seek to end the conflict peacefully and we have agreed on limits in
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have stalled since the end of March 2022.
`If it weren’t for the West’s stance, the war would have ended a year and a half ago. But they (the government in Ukraine) didn’t want that. I don’t know if they still want it now or not. But we are still ready.`
The Russian president said Moscow had accepted the Minsk agreements, `expects its partners to comply` and `tries to implement them no matter how complicated they are for both sides`, for
President Putin said he was thinking about how the Russian side `persuades people living in Donbass to accept those agreements`.
`We thought we would do it, however, the other side didn’t even do that. The current leader of Ukraine has declared that they do not like that Minsk agreement,` Mr. Putin emphasized.
Launched in 2015, the Minsk agreement is expected to put an end to the war in Eastern Ukraine and defuse tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
According to Russia’s explanation, the Minsk agreements forced the Kiev government to make changes to the law and constitution, paving the way to allow pro-Russian separatist forces in the Donbass region to be represented in the Ukrainian government.
In 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree not to negotiate with President Putin’s government.
Russia announced its willingness to negotiate, but on the condition that Ukraine must acknowledge `new territorial realities`.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials announced that peace talks will only take place when Russia withdraws all troops from Ukrainian territory, including Crimea.
