Russian President sets conditions for ceasefire and peace talks with Ukraine ahead of peace conference

On June 14, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would cease fire and enter peace talks if Ukraine abandoned its ambitions to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and withdrew its forces from four regions of Ukraine that Moscow has claimed sovereignty over.

President Putin speaks at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2024, June 7. (Source: AP)

President Vladimir Putin said Russia is ready to ensure the safe withdrawal of Ukrainian units so that this can happen.

Mr Putin made the remarks ahead of a Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland, where more than 90 countries and organisations will discuss possible solutions towards ending the conflict in Ukraine.

However, Russia has so far not received an invitation to attend the conference and has called the gathering "a waste of time".

Earlier, on June 11, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said that his country "accepts responsibility" for not inviting Russia to the peace summit for Ukraine, after consulting on the issue "with a number of countries".

Russia now controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine's territory in the third year of the conflict while Ukraine says peace can only be based on the complete withdrawal of Russian forces and restoration of territorial integrity.

Regarding Western countries' plans to use the interest earned from Russian assets frozen abroad to provide aid to Ukraine, President Putin noted that the West's treatment of Moscow shows that any country can fall victim to similar Western asset freezes. "Anyone can be the next to be dispossessed by the United States and the West," Putin said, adding that Moscow would respond accordingly.

President Putin made the remarks a day after leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations agreed on a deal to provide a $50 billion loan to Ukraine using interest from Russian state assets frozen since February 2022.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tong-thong-nga-neu-dieu-kien-ngung-ban-va-hoa-dam-voi-ukraine-truoc-them-hoi-nghi-hoa-binh-275017.html