Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his meeting with scientists while visiting the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research on June 13, 2024 in Dubna, Russia.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday set out the requirements for Moscow to start peace talks with Ukraine, more than two years after the Kremlin’s full-fledged invasion of its neighbor.
According to a Google-translated Telegram update from Russian state news outlet Tass, the terms include the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which Russia illegally annexed within months of commencing hostilities, in September 2022.
The Kremlin’s conditions are unlikely to receive a warm reception in Kyiv, which has repeatedly stated that it will not concede territory to Russia.
Putin said during a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry that as long as Ukraine begins a “real withdrawal of troops from these regions, and will also officially notify of the abandonment of plans to join NATO — on our part, immediately, at the same minute, an order will follow to cease fire and begin negotiations,” according to Google-translated comments carried by Tass.
He said that Moscow was committed to ensuring the “unhindered and safe withdrawal” of Ukrainian forces if Kyiv agrees to such a concession.
If Kyiv and the West refuse this peace proposal, Moscow’s later demands will be different, Putin added.
CNBC has reached out to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
Putin’s comments contrast starkly with his Ukrainian counterpart’s peace plan. Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s 10-point proposal, outlined in November 2022, demands the restoration of the country’s “territorial integrity” under the U.N. Charter. He also insists that Ukraine regain the peninsula of Crimea, which Russia annexed illegally prior to the current war, in February 2014.
This breaking news story is being updated.