According to Russian sources accessed by Reuters, Vladimir Putin “can fight as long as necessary, but he is also ready to freeze the war.” The agency's interlocutors claim that the Russian president is willing to agree to a negotiated ceasefire on the current front line, and is also not willing to announce another mobilization. Reuters emphasizes, however, that “the prospect of a ceasefire now seems distant.”
Reuters journalists reached five Russian sources, according to whom the president Russia Vladimir Putin he was reported to have told his advisers that he had no plans for the territory FOR THIS. According to four of these sources, the Russian leader is ready to stop war in Ukraine, negotiating a ceasefire that would take into account the current front line. However, the interlocutors added that Putin is ready to continue fighting if he does not receive a response from the side Ukraine and Western countries.
Reuters' interviewees spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter.
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“Putin can fight as long as it takes, but he is also ready for a ceasefire, to freeze the war,” a high-ranking associate of the Russian president who “has knowledge of the highest-level talks in the Kremlin” told Reuters.
Russian sources: Putin “expressed frustration” over “ruling out talks”
According to three of the sources cited by the agency, Vladimir Putin “expressed frustration” to a small group of advisers in connection with – in his opinion – “attempts supported by the West to obstruct negotiations and the decision of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to exclude talks.”
Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov in response to Reuters' questions, he said Putin had repeatedly made clear that Russia was open to dialogue to achieve his goals. He stated that the country did not want “eternal war”. The ministries of defense and foreign affairs did not respond to journalists' questions.
Vladimir PutinEPA/MIKHAIL METZEL / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL MANDATORY CREDIT
According to Reuters sources, Vladimir Putin, elected for another term in March, would like to take advantage of Russia's current “dynamics” and forget about the war. Two of the agency's interlocutors said that, according to the Russian leader, the progress in the war so far is enough to “sell victory to the Russian people.” Reuters also reminds that economist Andrei Belousov was appointed as the new defense minister, which was interpreted by some analysts as “putting the Russian economy on a permanent war footing in order to win the protracted conflict.”
Reuters: Ukraine ceasefire seems distant
Some sources also emphasized that Vladimir Putin is aware that more spectacular military successes would require another national mobilization, which he does not want. One of the interlocutors stated that after the mobilization in September 2022, the president's popularity decreased. Reuters also reminds that as a result of this decision, “hundreds of thousands of men of military age” left the country.
Dmitry Peskov said that “Russia does not need mobilization and is instead recruiting volunteers for the armed forces.”
Reuters estimates that “the prospect of a ceasefire or even peace talks now seems distant.” Journalists remind us that the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky He has repeatedly rejected the vision of peace on Russia's terms, and also announced the recovery of lost areas, including Crimea, which was annexed in 2014. In 2022, he signed a decree stating that any talks with Putin are “impossible”.
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One of Reuters' interlocutors assessed that as long as Zelensky remains in power, no agreement will be reached – unless Russia bypasses Ukraine and signs an agreement with USA. However, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinkenspeaking last week in Kiev, told reporters he did not believe Putin was interested in serious negotiations.
Peace conference in Switzerland
In mid-June, on Zelensky's initiative, Switzerland A peace conference will be held dedicated to achieving peace in Ukraine. Russia was not invited to this event, but Ukraine and Switzerland expect the presence of Russian allies, including China.
Reuters highlights that on May 17, speaking in China, Putin said that “Ukraine could use the Swiss talks to persuade a broader group of countries to support Zelensky's demand for a complete Russian withdrawal, which Putin said would be an imposed condition rather than serious peace negotiations.” .
– We are ready to discuss. We never refused, the Russian leader said in China.
When asked about the case by Reuters journalists, a spokesman for the US Department of State emphasized that any peace initiative must respect “Ukraine's territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders” and described Russia as the only obstacle to peace in Ukraine. “The Kremlin has not yet shown any significant interest in ending the war, on the contrary,” we read in a spokesman's statement quoted by the agency.
According to all five Reuters Russian sources, Putin's non-negotiable condition in a possible ceasefire agreement is to include all profits on the battlefield. – Putin will say that we won, that NATO attacked us and we retained our sovereignty, that we have a land corridor to Crimea, which is true – said one of the agency's interlocutors.
According to some Reuters sources, Putin, in the absence of a ceasefire, wants to occupy as much territory as possible, increasing pressure on Kiev. Aggressor forces control approximately 18 percent of Ukraine. – Russia will keep pressing, said one of Putin's associates, quoted by Reuters.
Main photo source: EPA/MIKHAIL METZEL / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN POOL MANDATORY CREDIT