Today at 08:28
During a video call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that peace in Ukraine should be long-lasting and based on Russia’s “objective interests.”
This was reported by Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov, quoted by Russian media.
“The goal of the settlement should not be a short-term truce, not some kind of respite, but a long-term peace based on respect for our objective interests,” Putin said.
The conversation lasted over an hour and a half and was held in a “friendly atmosphere.” It was planned back in December and was not related to the inauguration of Donald Trump the day before.
The day before, on January 20, at a meeting of the Russian Security Council, Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed their readiness to negotiate with the new US administration.
However, peace, according to the Kremlin, should include the fulfillment of a number of requirements, including:
Ukraine’s permanent neutral status and its non-membership in NATO.
Strict restrictions on the size of the Ukrainian army.
Removal of the current government of Ukraine from power.
These conditions, according to the Institute for the Study of War, are actually an ultimatum for Ukraine’s complete surrender.
The Russian leadership is trying to present its approach to the “settlement” as constructive, but the Kremlin’s demands leave no room for compromise and only deepen the conflict.
