The Kremlin threatens to "use force" to achieve its goals in Ukraine if an agreement fails. And according to Moscow, the main obstacle to an agreement is Europe itself .
Russia, spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared, "will have to resort to force to achieve its goals if there is no prospect of reaching an agreement with Europe." And "if the European Union does not want peace," he added, "there is no point in discussing a solution to the conflict in Ukraine or the EU's security framework. Europeans simply cannot make certain decisions in a timely manner because they are divided. This slows down every process."
Yesterday, Zelensky announced the United States' proposal to withdraw from Donbass in exchange for NATO membership and adequate security guarantees.
But today the Kremlin clarified that Donbass is not enough : "Russia's negotiating position will be defined in such a way as to achieve the objectives of the special military operation. These objectives were formulated by President Putin in June 2024 and have not changed since then."
And the conditions set by Putin require Kiev to withdraw from four regions: Donetsk and Lugansk, which together form the Donbass, but also Zaporizhzhia and Kherson .
"Today we are making a real peace proposal; we are talking not about freezing the conflict but about its complete cessation," Putin stressed at the time.
The negotiations, Peskov added, should lead to "international agreements that also sanction the cancellation of all Western sanctions against Russia."
(Unioneonline)
