Russian President Vladimir Putin has supplied the U.S. to halt his full-scale invasion of Ukraine alongside the present entrance line, the Monetary Occasions (FT) reported on April 22, citing unnamed sources aware of the talks.
Putin reportedly conveyed the provide throughout a latest assembly with U.S. Particular Envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg. This may very well be the primary formal indication from Putin for the reason that full-scale battle started in 2022 that Russia could contemplate scaling again its territorial calls for.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, responding to the report, solid doubt on its accuracy. "Quite a lot of fakes are being printed now, together with these printed by revered publications, so one ought to solely take heed to main sources," he instructed the Russian state-controlled media outlet RIA Novosti.
Russia illegally declared possession over Ukraine's Crimea in 2014 and over Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts in 2022, in violation of worldwide regulation. Russia solely partially occupies the 4 oblasts.
Moscow has repeatedly demanded worldwide recognition of the areas as Russian and that Ukrainian troops utterly withdraw from them as a part of any peace negotiations.
Putin's message reportedly prompted Washington to suggest a "peace settlement," parts of which have since been revealed in media reviews, based on the FT.
In accordance with the Wall Avenue Journal, the U.S. proposal — introduced in a confidential April 17 assembly in Paris — includes doubtlessly recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea and barring Ukraine from NATO membership.
Ukraine has been requested to reply this week, with a follow-up assembly scheduled in London on April 23 involving delegations from Ukraine, the U.S., the U.Ok., and France. If the events attain a consensus, the proposal could also be formally launched to Moscow.
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European officers cited by the FT expressed concern that Putin's provide is designed to push U.S. President Donald Trump towards accepting broader Kremlin calls for.
President Volodymyr Zelensky firmly rejected such circumstances on April 22, reiterating that Ukraine is not going to acknowledge Russia's occupation of Crimea beneath any state of affairs.
"That is our territory, the territory of the folks of Ukraine," Zelensky stated. "As quickly as talks about Crimea and our sovereign territories start, the talks enter the format that Russia needs — prolonging the battle."
Witkoff, who conveyed Putin's place and is predicted to go to Moscow this week, has drawn criticism for backing proposals perceived as aligning with Russian pursuits.
Washington has signaled that if no progress is made within the coming days, it might abandon its ceasefire mediation efforts.
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy