Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to open peace talks with United States President-elect Donald Trump to end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. However, Peskov stressed that Russia's demands for ending the conflict remain unchanged.
"We all heard Mr. Trump say during his campaign that he intended to reach out to Putin himself," Peskov told reporters, referring to Trump's campaign pledge to improve relations with Russia. He added that Putin had expressed this willingness during his recent public remarks. (Related: Trump blames Biden, Zelensky for Ukraine conflict, warns of WWIII with Russia.)
Putin's offer of dialogue follows his congratulations to Trump on his election victory, during which he expressed his hope of repairing relations between Moscow and Washington. Relations have soured in recent years, especially due to U.S. support for Ukraine through sanctions on Moscow and near-unlimited military aid for Kyiv. Speaking at a forum in Sochi, Russia, Putin noted that Trump’s desire to "restore relations with Russia and help end the Ukrainian crisis" should be taken seriously.
While Putin has signaled his readiness for peace talks, Peskov made it clear that Russia's core demands remain firm.
"Putin has never once said that the goals of the special military operation are changing," Peskov said.
Putin wants control over southeastern Ukraine for peace
Putin's conditions for ending the war include Ukraine forever renouncing its ambitions to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the lifting of Western sanctions against Russia and international recognition that the Crimean Peninsula is Russian territory.
Putin is also demanding that Ukraine cede control over four of its southern territories – the embattled regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which have partially been controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014, as well as the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which Russia was able to mostly occupy since 2022.
"As soon as Kyiv agrees to these conditions and begins the withdrawal of forces, we will instantly order a ceasefire," Putin told Russian diplomats in June.
However, Ukraine has rejected these demands, seeing them as an ultimatum that would force capitulation. In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky introduced his "victory plan," which includes a path to NATO membership, security guarantees from Western countries and the right to use NATO weapons to strike Russian targets. The Kremlin has warned that such a plan could provoke direct conflict between NATO and Russia.
Trump has promised to end the war quickly if elected, citing his established relationships with both Putin and Zelensky. While he has not laid out specific details, Trump has said he could broker a peace deal that is "good for both sides." Trump after the election confirmed that he had already spoken with Zelensky but had not yet reached out to Putin. He indicated that he plans to do so soon.
Zelensky, however, has firmly rejected any compromise with Russia. He warned that any ceasefire talks without strong security guarantees would be "dangerous" and could allow Russia to maintain its occupation of Ukrainian territory.
"Such a ceasefire prepares the ground for continued occupation and the destruction of our sovereignty," Zelensky stated at a summit in Budapest on Nov. 7.
Putin reiterated his territorial demands during a speech on Nov. 9, insisting that Ukraine withdraw all of their forces from the entirety of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russia currently occupies parts of these regions but claims the entirety of them as Russian territory. Putin emphasized that a full withdrawal by Ukraine and an official renouncement of NATO membership would trigger an immediate ceasefire and peace negotiations.
However, Ukrainian officials remain skeptical of Putin's intentions. Zelensky has compared Putin's tactics to those of Nazi Germany, specifically referencing Hitler's 1938 demand for Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland.
"You can't trust it," Zelensky said, warning that Putin's demands would lead to further aggression.
Ukrainian adviser Mykhailo Podolyak also dismissed Russia's terms as a "complete sham," accusing Putin of trying to avoid paying the price for his aggression while continuing the war in new formats.
Watch this short clip of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the 2024 Valdai Discussion Club annual meeting in Sochi congratulating President-elect Donald Trump for his electoral victory.
This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com.
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