Russian PresidentVladimir Putin has no intention of compromising on demands on land, peacekeepers and Ukraine’s neutrality in any peace talks, according to a new report.
Officials say that Putin has continued to make deliberately ‘maximalist’ demands ahead of negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, which he knows are unlikely to be accepted by Kyiv and Europe.
Worryingly, there is so far no indication that Putin is willing to compromise on anything, and the officials say he is ready to continue fighting the war if he does not get what he wants, according to Bloomberg.
In recent days Russia is said to have made gains in Ukraine.
These revelations cast doubt on whether Putin is serious about negotiating a lasting peace deal with Ukraine. They also clash with Trump’s apparent belief that Putin has a desire for peace.
The claims are also at odds with comments Trump made on Friday when he told reporters at the White House that he believed Putin wanted peace, saying, “I’m finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the claims from security officials, saying they were “not true”.
Peskov said, “Russia is open for peace efforts, for peace settlement around Ukraine, and we actually prefer to reach our goals through peaceful and diplomatic means. If today and tomorrow shows that Ukraine is ready for negotiations, it will be a different story.”
Russia meanwhile, has demanded that Ukraine must formally commit to neutrality and abandon any ambition to join NATO. It also wants Ukraine to demilitarise and recognise Russian claims to annexed territory.
While Trump has said he wants a definite end to the fighting, these latest claims from officials cast doubt on just how easy that will be, raising the likelihood that Trump would have to agree to all of Putin’s terms if he wants a deal, or walk away and leave Ukraine without support.
According to Western security officials, it seems that Putin is unlikely to go back on any of his hard-line positions despite Trump’s promise to bring the war to an end.
The information comes as Saudi Arabia is set to host talks on Tuesday between officials from the US and Ukraine to help bring an end to the Russia/Ukraine war.
