New Delhi: On the eve of the Swiss-led Geneva Peace Summit on the Russia-Ukraine war, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined his position for a ceasefire, including the handing over of territory to Moscow and the demilitarisation of Kyiv to end the war. The terms were immediately rejected by Ukraine.
At the Russian foreign ministry Friday, Putin laid down the four conditions to open negotiations with Kyiv for peace. The conditions are: the withdrawal of troops from Donbass and Novorossiya, renunciation of plans to join NATO, neutral and non-aligned status of Ukraine, and lifting of Western sanctions.
The Donbass and Novorossiya regions include four provinces that Russia has claimed as its part since 2022 — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Moscow is not in control of all four provinces, but in recent weeks has made significant land gains, after Western aid to Ukraine trickled to a halt for a few months due to domestic issues in the US.
“As soon as they declare in Kyiv that they are ready for such a decision and begin a real withdrawal of troops from these regions, and also officially announce the abandonment of their plans to join NATO — on our side, immediately, literally at the same minute, an order will follow to cease fire and begin negotiations,” Putin was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The maximalist position taken by Putin indicates his belief that Russia is in ascendance with regards to the war in Ukraine.
The conditions were swiftly rejected by Kyiv. “It is absurd for Putin, who planned, prepared, and executed, together with his accomplices, the largest armed aggression in Europe since the Second World War, to present himself as a peacemaker and to put forward options for ending the war he started that undermine the foundations of the international legal order and the UN Charter,” the Ukrainian foreign ministry said in a statement.
“Putin does not seek peace, he seeks to divide the world. He is well aware that the powerful voice of the world that will be heard at the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland will be the first practical step towards a just peace,” it added.
The timing of Putin’s offer came a day before the peace summit being hosted by Switzerland at Geneva on 15 – 16 June. Russia has not been invited to the Summit. About 90 delegations are expected out of over 160 invitations, including the presence of US Vice-President Kamala Harris and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Kyiv believes Putin’s timing is to prevent “leaders and countries” from participating in the summit.
The invitations sent out by Switzerland are for Heads of States/Government and all ministers to attend the summit. China is unlikely to send a delegation to the summit.
According to both UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised a high-level delegation from India to attend the summit. The two leaders said the same after their bilateral meetings with Modi at the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy Friday.
The Geneva Summit is underpinned by the 10-point process outlined by Zelenskyy at the G20 Leaders’ Summit at Bali in November 2022.
Zelenskyy’s 10-point peace plan includes: the restoring of nuclear safety, ensuring export of Ukrainian food exports, energy security, release of prisoners, restoring Ukrainian territory, withdrawal of Russian troops, establishment of a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes, security guarantees for Kyiv ending the war and environmental protection.
Ukraine has been lobbying hard for Modi to attend the summit, with multiple calls between Zelenskyy and the Indian PM, as well as the visit of Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba earlier in March.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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