Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that NATO was trying to target Ukraine against Russia, he also voiced a peace proposal for talks on Ukraine, according to Russian media.
There have been five and now six waves of NATO expansion. They tried to turn Ukraine into their bridgehead as well, to make it anti-Russia. For the sake of achieving those goals, they invested money, resources, bought politicians and entire parties, rewrote history and educational programmes.
Putin was speaking at a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday, 14 June.
[NATO] did everything to undermine our state ties, to separate, to pit our peoples against each other.
According to the president, if the conflict between Russia and Ukraine remained a “two-state,” the sides would find a way to “fairly resolve any issues.” The two countries shared a common history and culture, spiritual values, millions of kinship, family, human ties, he stressed.
He called Ukraine’s punitive operation against Donbas (a common name for Luhansk and Donetsk regions) “genocide.”
After the residents of part of Ukraine declared their independence in accordance with international law, [Ukrainian authorities] started hostilities and continue them. What is this but genocide in the centre of Europe in the 21st century?
Today, after the Russian army seized parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, a number of countries expressed readiness for mediation, Putin noted. In March 2022, Moscow did not rule out retaining Ukraine’s sovereignty over Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, but on the condition that “Russia will have a strong land communication with Crimea,” he added.
The residents of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions have expressed their stance on joining Russia, the issue is sealed for good.
New peace proposal
The president noted that the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) of Ukraine was a legitimate body in Ukraine at the moment. In turn, the executive branch “is being held illegally, just as it was in 2014.”
Commenting on Kyiv’s agreements with the US and NATO, Putin stated that the treaty “is null and void, all constructions can fall apart.” Putin also called the Swiss peace conference on Ukraine “meaningless” without Russia’s participation.
The conference in Switzerland on Ukraine is a ploy to let the discussion go astray, to signify the legitimacy of the Kyiv authorities. It is impossible to reach a solution in Ukraine without Russia’s participation, without an honest dialogue with Russia.
According to the plan proposed by Putin, Ukrainian troops should completely leave the territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
As soon as Ukraine starts withdrawing troops from Donbas and Novorossiya [common name for seized territories] and commits not to join NATO, the Russian Federation will cease fire and be ready for negotiations. Russia is ready to guarantee the safe withdrawal of Ukrainian units and formations from Donbas.
Putin emphasised that his plan proposed “not a freezing of the conflict, but its final conclusion.”
Our principled position is neutral, non-aligned and nuclear-free status for Ukraine, its demilitarisation and denazification. The status of Crimea and Sevastopol, Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions as regions of the Russian Federation should be specified in international treaties.
The new peace agreement also calls for the lifting of sanctions against Russia. Putin called for “turning the tragic page of history and gradually restoring relations with Ukraine and Europe.”
Russia reaffirms its readiness to negotiate with all countries, but it should not be an imitation of the peace process.
