Kremlin reacts to rumors of Putin’s refusal to give up 4 Ukrainian regions
22 April 23:38
The Kremlin dictator’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the FT’s publication, which stated that Russian leader Vladimir Putin proposes to stop the front at the current line. He said this in a commentary to the RIA Novosti propaganda agency, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Peskov said that “there are a lot of fakes being published now,” including from “reputable publications,” so he said that we should listen to “only primary sources.”
The Financial Times, citing sources, reported that Putin expressed readiness to concede his previous demand for full control over Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions if the United States recognizes that Crimea belongs to Russia and blocks Ukraine’s accession to NATO. Instead, he proposes to stop the front at the current line.
According to the newspaper’s interlocutors, Putin said this to US special envoy Steve Witkoff when he visited Russia in early April.
According to the newspaper, this proposal is the first sign (since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine) that Russia may back down from its maximalist demands to end the invasion.
However, European officials warn that Putin is likely to use the apparent concession as bait to persuade Trump to accept other Russian demands and impose them on Ukraine.
“Kyiv is now under intense pressure to give in so that Trump can claim victory,” one of the officials said.
According to the interlocutors, Putin would potentially be willing to concede his demand for full control over four Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – if the United States makes broader geopolitical concessions to Moscow, such as recognizing its control over Crimea and blocking Ukraine from joining NATO.
Position of the White House (USA)
The Washington Post, citing its own sources, writes that at the talks in London on April 23, the Ukrainian and European delegations will face a US proposal to recognize Crimea as Russian territory and freeze the front line.
The newspaper informs that the proposal was submitted by the US side to the European Union and Ukraine during talks in Paris on April 17.
For his part, US President Donald Trump expressed hope earlier this week that Russia and Ukraine would reach an agreement in the near future.
“I hope that Russia and Ukraine will reach an agreement this week. After that, both countries will start doing big business with the U.S., which is booming, and make a fortune,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
By the way, on April 22, it became known that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio would not go to London to participate in the ceasefire talks in Ukraine on Wednesday. This was stated by Tammy Bruce, Chief of Staff at the US State Department.
“Secretary Rubio is a very busy man, he’s one of the most active, if not the most active secretary of state we’ve ever had, and it certainly affects him every day. And when you have certain plans, they are conditional. And in this particular case, as long as the meetings in London are ongoing, he will not be there,” Bruce said.
She added that special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg, who oversees Washington’s contacts with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian leadership, will take part in the talks in the British capital.
What official Kyiv says
Speaking to journalists on April 22, President Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian side had not received any messages regarding the exchange or abandonment of certain occupied territories, only signals through the media.
He also said that Ukraine would never legally recognize Crimea as Russian.
“There is nothing to talk about. This is outside our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine. It will not be,” the president emphasized.
In addition, Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is ready to agree to an unconditional ceasefire and continue to participate in negotiations on a lasting peace in any format.
“If the Russians are not just ready for a ceasefire tomorrow, but if they cease fire, we are ready to sit down for talks and move on to other steps to end the war. If at least something is done in fact, and not just talk,” Zelensky said.
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