Photo: Russian dictator Vladimir Putin (Getty Images) Author: Natalia Kava
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said he agreed with the United States' idea of a ceasefire. But he said there were caveats.
As reported by RBC-Ukraine, Putin stated this during a conversation with journalists.
During his speech, Putin said he wanted to thank US President Donald Trump for paying attention to the issue of the war in Ukraine.
“We are grateful to all of them for this, because this activity is aimed at achieving the noble mission of ending military actions and human losses. First. Second. We agree with the proposals to end military actions. But we proceed from the fact that this end must be such that it will lead to long-term peace and eliminate the initial causes of this crisis,” Putin said.
At the same time, he stated that Ukraine’s decision to agree to a ceasefire was made under pressure from the Americans.
“I am absolutely convinced that the Ukrainian side should have asked the Americans about this in the most persistent way, based on the situation that is developing, as was just said, on the ground. And how is it developing?” the dictator said.
At the same time, Putin stated that he is interested in the question of what will happen in the Kursk region during the truce. He claims that Russia allegedly has full control over the situation. Putin called the Ukrainian Armed Forces operation in the Kursk region a terrorist act and said that the Ukrainian military will face isolation.
“The group that invaded our territory is isolated. This is complete isolation and complete fire control. Control of Ukrainian troops inside this invasion zone has been lost. And if at the first stages, literally a week or two ago, Ukrainian servicemen tried to leave there in small groups, now this is impossible,” Putin said.
He believes that the Ukrainian military will be able to leave the Kursk region in only two ways: surrender or die. That is why, in his opinion, Ukraine should agree to a ceasefire.
“If we stop military actions for 30 days, what does that mean? That everyone who is there will leave without a fight? Should we let them out of there after they have committed a lot of crimes against civilians? Or will the Ukrainian leadership give them the order to lay down their arms, simply surrender? How will that happen? It is unclear,” Putin cynically noted.
Interestingly, the Russian dictator is concerned about who will control the ceasefire along the front line in Ukraine. He is sure that Russia is now advancing along the entire demarcation line.
Putin fears that Ukraine will use the 30-day ceasefire to strengthen its army with both troops and new equipment.
“In order for weapons to be delivered there, for newly mobilized units to undergo training, and for none of this to happen, then the question arises of how the issues of control and verification will be resolved. How can we and how will we be guaranteed that nothing like this will happen?” he said.
In addition, Putin has already asked himself the question of who to blame for the ceasefire violations on. After all, he does not know who will give the orders to cease hostilities.
“Who will give orders to cease hostilities? And what is the price of these orders? Can you imagine, almost 9 thousand kilometers. Who will determine where and who violated the possible agreement on a ceasefire for two thousand kilometers? And then, who will blame whom for violating this agreement? These are all questions that require careful study on both sides. Therefore, the idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it. But there are questions that we must discuss,” the dictator said.
30-day ceasefire in Ukraine
Recall that negotiations were held in Saudi Arabia the other day, during which the Ukrainian and American delegations reached a number of agreements. In particular, Washington proposed the introduction of a 30-day ceasefire on the front line. Kyiv, in turn, supported this proposal.
And today an American delegation has arrived in Russia, which plans to discuss a ceasefire with the enemy. However, Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said that the terrorist country is not interested in temporary truces with Ukraine. However, as the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) Andrey Kovalenko noted, the final decision is made by Putin.
Bloomberg previously reported that US President Donald Trump wants Ukraine to agree to a quick ceasefire with Russia. Such agreement is a condition for signing a minerals agreement.
At that time, Zelensky proposed establishing a ceasefire at sea and in the air. According to him, these could be the first stages of ending the war.
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