The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands for further territorial concessions as a condition for peace, describing them as absurd and manipulative.
“Putin is not looking for peace, he is trying to divide the world,” the ministry said on Friday, referring to Putin’s statements ahead of the Swiss peace summit scheduled for this weekend.
Putin is trying to present himself as a peacemaker for the war he has caused, the ministry said. “Russia’s plans are not for peace, but for the continuation of the war, the occupation of Ukraine, the destruction of the Ukrainian people and further aggression in Europe.”
Earlier, Putin told the Russian Foreign Ministry that the fighting could end if Kiev gave up its goal of joining NATO and remained neutral, withdrawing from the areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhia and the Crimea.
Russia has not yet succeeded in capturing Zaporizhia and was forced to withdraw from Kherson in the fall of 2022.
“Ukraine never wanted this war, and like no other country in the world, Ukraine wants it to end,” the Ukrainian ministry said.
However, forcing Moscow to stop the war will require an international coalition of states to achieve a just peace based on the UN Charter and the Ukrainian peace formula, the ministry said.
The first peace summit in Switzerland is necessary to force Russia to give up the ultimatums and engage in genuine negotiations to end the war, the ministry statement said.
