The President of Russia, Wladimir Putindefended this Tuesday that his country cannot end the war as long as the Ukrainian counteroffensive continues, which, three months after its announcement, has brought only modest progress for Kiev’s interests in the Zaporizhia region.
“The people we talk to who are mediating or want to mediate ask me if we are ready to cease hostilities, but how can we cease hostilities if the other side has a… Counteroffensive? What should we do?” Putin asked, according to the TASS agency.
Putin says withdrawal would be a ‘bad theory’
During an appearance in the city of Vladivostok on the occasion of the VIII Eastern Economic Forum, which on this occasion was marked by the presence of the North Korean leader Kim Jong UnPutin pointed out that a withdrawal now would be a “bad theory” and called on Ukraine to show real willingness to negotiate.
He in turn Foreign Minister Sergei LavrovHe has also made comments along these lines, warning Ukraine: “They must understand that the longer they postpone things, the more difficult it will be to reach an agreement later.”
Lavrov, as Putin has done on other occasions, recalled that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, signed a legislative decree preventing negotiations with Moscow. “Everyone knows it,” he emphasized in statements to Russian television on the sidelines of this forum in Vladivostok.
“If those who run this regime, alluding to the United States, have decided that Ukrainians should be ready to negotiate, then perhaps the first step should be an order to repeal this decree, which, I repeat, prohibits negotiationsLavrov said.