Volodymyr Zelensky, the country’s president, has long maintained that unless Russian forces withdraw from all of Ukraine’s land, including Crimea, negotiations would not take place.
Additionally, the Russian president stated that before peace negotiations could begin, Ukraine would have to give up on joining NATO.
Mr. Putin’s declaration outlining his demands for a ceasefire was made just before leaders from ninety nations are gearing up to convene in Switzerland on Saturday to talk about ways to bring about peace in Ukraine; Russia has not been invited to this meeting.
On Friday, Mr. Putin addressed a gathering of Russian ambassadors in Moscow and demanded that the Ukrainian government leave the four areas it has partially annexed: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
He added that in order to stop the Russian march, Ukraine would have to formally abandon its attempts to formally join NATO.
Putin stated: “As soon as Kyiv declares that it is ready for such a decision… an order to cease fire and begin negotiations will immediately follow from our side, literally at the same minute.”
The proposal was deemed a “complete sham” and “offensive to common sense” by Mykhailo Podolyak, the counselor to the Ukrainian president.
