Putin names his ceasefire conditions
24 May 2024 18:18
Russian leader Vladimir Putin is ready to cease fire on the current demarcation line. Reuters reports this with reference to four sources in Putin’s entourage, according to [Kommersant]
Sources from Putin’s entourage claim that he expressed regret that the West and Ukraine were abandoning ceasefire talks.
The agency’s journalists spoke to five representatives of Putin’s entourage, and four of them confirmed such sentiments in the Kremlin.
“Putin can fight as much as he wants, but Putin is also ready for a ceasefire to freeze the war,”
– said one of the sources.
The appointment of thenew defence minister was seen by some Western analysts as a move to put the Russian economy on a war footing. However, the sources said Putin would rather use the current situation to put the war behind him. Based on their knowledge of conversations in the Kremlin’s top offices, two sources said that Putin believes that the successes in the war so far are enough to “sell” victory to the Russian people.
Three sources said that Putin understands that any tangible new achievements would require another nationwide mobilisation, which he does not want as his popularity has declined since the first mobilisation in September 2022.
Therefore, Putin is ready to settle for the land that Russia has already occupied and freeze the conflict on the current front lines.
“Putin will say that we have won, that NATO attacked us and we have preserved our sovereignty, that we have a land corridor to Crimea, it’s true,”
– one of the sources said.
Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said that Russia was ready for talks, but under new conditions.
Ukraine has repeatedly stated that negotiations with the Putin regime and Putin personally are impossible. on 30 September 2022, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree, one of the clauses of which states “To state the impossibility of holding negotiations with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin”.
