Russian President Vladimir Putin (AP)
Russian president Vladimir Putin has said a revised US proposal “could form the basis” of a future Ukraine agreement, but only if Kyiv pulls its troops out of areas Moscow claims as its own. If Ukraine refuses, he warned, Russia will take the territory by force. The comments come as Washington tries to restart peace talks with a new plan it hopes to discuss with both Moscow and Kyiv. The war is now close to four years old, with Ukrainian forces outnumbered and under strain along the eastern front. Speaking during a visit to Kyrgyzstan, Putin said, “If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations,” Putin said during a visit to Kyrgyzstan. “If they don’t, then we will achieve it by military means.”Russia currently controls around one-fifth of Ukraine. Kyiv has repeatedly said it will not give up any land. Washington’s first proposal, drafted without involving European allies, had suggested Kyiv withdraw from the Donetsk region and would have effectively recognised Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk as Russian. After criticism from Europe and Ukraine, the US scaled it back, though the updated version has not been made public. Putin said he has seen the new draft and believes it could be a starting point, but insisted Russia still wants international recognition of the areas it occupies.”Overall, we agree that it could form the basis for future agreements,” he said of the latest draft, which the United States is thought to have shortened to about 20 points. But Russia was still seeking international recognition of the occupied territories, Putin added.
Ukraine rejected that outright. President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top aide, Andriy Yermak, told The Atlantic, “As long as Zelensky is president, no one should count on us giving up territory. He will not sign away territory.” He said the only realistic discussion for now was defining the current 1,100-kilometre front line.US negotiator Steve Witkoff is expected in Moscow next week to discuss the revised draft. US Army secretary Dan Driscoll will visit Kyiv later this week.
