The Kremlin has denied that Russian President Vladimir Putin contacted the US to propose freezing the conflict with Ukraine and was rejected by Washington.
Reuters news agency on February 13 quoted three unnamed Russian officials as saying that Mr. Putin contacted the US through intermediaries, including Moscow's Arab partners in the Middle East, in late 2023 to propose freezing the conflict and maintaining the status quo on the front line, in order to end the fighting with Ukraine. The proposal was later rejected by Washington because it did not want to put more pressure on Kiev.
"No, that's not true," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied on February 14 when asked about the above information.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on the same day that the possibility of the conflict in Ukraine being resolved through diplomacy is not high, because "the West has no intention of stopping harming Moscow's interests."
"As long as those who declared war on Russia have not made any serious proposals and are not ready to respect our interests and the real situation on the battlefield, dialogue at the negotiating table cannot take place," Lavrov said at a meeting with Russian lawmakers.
However, Foreign Minister Lavrov said Russia is always ready to seek non-military solutions to end the war in Ukraine. "We remain open to the possibility of resolving the conflict by political and diplomatic means, as long as such a solution takes into account our legitimate interests and the real situation," the Russian official stressed.
Russia and Ukraine held several rounds of talks in the early stages of the conflict, but they were fruitless. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree in October 2022 stating that his country would not engage in dialogue with Moscow as long as Putin remained in power. Kiev has repeatedly said it would not stop fighting until it had retaken all territory controlled by Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in March 2023. Photo: RIA Novosti
In an interview last week with American journalist Tucker Carlson, President Putin said that now was the right time to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, as the West had realized that it was impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield. "When they realize that, they have to think about what to do next. We are ready for dialogue," Mr. Putin said.
After stopping a large-scale counteroffensive launched by Ukraine last June, the Russian army is regaining the initiative and stepping up attacks on the enemy from multiple directions, forcing Kiev to go on the defensive.
Vitaliy Barabash, the Ukrainian-appointed leader of the strategic city of Avdeevka in Donetsk province, admitted on February 9 that Russian forces had entered the outskirts of the city and the situation there was very difficult.
President Zelensky last week replaced the army chief Valery Zaluzhny and a number of senior military commanders, in an effort to change the situation on the battlefield. However, Moscow believes that Kiev's military reforms will not help it change the conflict situation.
The situation of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Graphics: RYV
Pham Giang (According to Reuters, RT, Sputnik )
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