“What can I say? These messages are ultimatum messages, they are nothing different than other ultimatums that he has made before,” Zelensky told the TV network Sky TG24 while attending the G7 meeting in the south of Italy.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has described the terms Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined for ending the conflict between the two countries as an “ultimatum” to Ukraine and as such unacceptable.
“What can I say? These messages are ultimatum messages, they are nothing different than other ultimatums that he has made before,” Zelensky told the TV network Sky TG24 while attending the G7 meeting in the south of Italy.
“He wants us to give up part of our occupied territories, but he also wants the unoccupied ones. He talks about regions of our country, and he won’t stop,” Zelensky claimed.
During a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Putin outlined the conditions that should be met in order to immediately halt hostilities and begin peace talks.
These include a withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Russia’s new territories, which should be internationally recognised, a promise by Kiev not to join NATO or seek to obtain nuclear weapons, and the lifting of sanctions on Russia.
Putin emphasised that Moscow was calling for “turning the tragic page of history and gradually restoring relations with Ukraine and Europe.”
He warned, however, that if Kiev and the West refused the proposal, they would be responsible for the continued bloodshed, while the situation on the battlefield would continue to change “not in favour of the Kiev regime.”
Zelensky’s aide, Mikhail Podoliak, has also rejected a peace initiative put forward by Russian President suggesting it was not “realistic.”
Podoliak who took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to express his displeasure stated that the Russian president was offering “no real peace proposal” and showing “no desire to end the war.”
The Ukrainian aide argued that Putin’s plan boiled down to Kiev giving up its territories and sovereignty and leaving itself “unprotected” by not joining NATO.
He went on to suggest that Moscow’s plan was a “complete sham” and dismissed it as “highly offensive to international law” and to “common sense,” claiming Russia would continue the conflict in “new formats” if Kiev accepts any of the points of the proposal.
NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, has also criticised Putin’s proposal, claiming that the request to withdraw Ukraine’s forces from Russia’s new territories was not an indication of goodwill but of Moscow’s desire to achieve its military goals and “occupy even more Ukrainian territory.”
Stoltenberg dismissed Putin’s proposal and vowed that NATO members will continue to strengthen their support of Ukraine as command posts in Germany and Eastern European countries will take part in coordinating arms supplies to the country.
Moscow has blasted the rejection of Putin’s proposal, with Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stating that Kiev and NATO’s refusal indicates their desire to “rob the Ukrainian people of a chance for peace.”
Zelensky’s characterization of Putin’s offer as an ultimatum was dismissed as “a wrong understanding, definitely,” according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday.
“This is a comprehensive, very deep and constructive proposal,” Putin’s press secretary told Izvestia. If the terms seem harsher than those Moscow proposed in the spring of 2022, he explained, that’s because “a different situation has arisen,” with four regions choosing to become part of Russia.
Residents of Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics voted overwhelmingly in September 2022 to leave Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. Kiev and its Western backers have denounced the vote as “rigged” and a “sham,” just as they refused to recognize Crimea’s return in 2014.
Peskov reminded Izvestia that Ukraine received very generous peace terms in March 2022, but rejected them “on orders from the British.” Ukrainian media and officials have confirmed that Boris Johnson, UK prime minister at the time, told them they should not accept any deal with Russia.
Announcing the military operation against the government in Kiev, in February 2022, Putin said that Moscow intended to achieve the “demilitarisation and de-nazification” of Ukraine and secure guarantees that Kiev would never join NATO or any other anti-Russian military bloc.
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