Moscow, Nov 12 (EFE).- Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with White House envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, on Thursday and expressed his desire for “eternal” peace, but called for the drawing of clear borders and maintained his stance, rejecting European troops in Ukraine.
“We know that the Ukrainian side is raising the issue of so-called «gray zones.» And this, as I’ve already said, will always be a bone of contention. For us, there is only one demarcation line, the state border. Because then it will be clear and understandable: here you are, here we are,” Putin said
“As soon as we get drawn into discussions about «gray zones,» they are understood differently, disputes immediately begin, and any agreement becomes unstable, and there will be no lasting peace,” he added.
The Russian president gave as an example disagreement between both sides on when an army has conquered or recaptured strongholds on the front line in Donbas.
However, it is unclear whether Putin was referring to Kyiv having to relinquish the territories it still controls in the four Ukrainian regions annexed by Moscow in 2022 or to international recognition of the Russian occupation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
In this regard, Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Kyiv is not willing to negotiate a withdrawal of its troops from the Donbas, where it still controls 20% of the territory (10%, according to Moscow).
Furthermore, Putin said Russia has never “been against dialogue with Europe” and “has never interrupted it,” adding that “it was they who interrupted dialogue with the Russian Federation.”
“We’ve said from the very beginning that the presence of any foreign troops on Ukrainian territory is absolutely unacceptable to us. Because we believe it threatens the security of the Russian Federation,” said Putin, explaining this was agreed upon in the Istanbul talks.
Adding, “The Europeans know about this. What do we hear from them? That after a peace agreement, they will immediately deploy troops into Ukrainian territory. What does that mean? We’ve already discussed this: for us, this is a legitimate goal, meaning the war will immediately resume.”
In this regard, Kushner, who advocated for a multilateral format for negotiations, emphasized that Europeans have a “strong desire” to end the war and are willing to address security measures to prevent future conflicts.
Indivisible Security for Europe
Both Kushner and Kyiv have asked Brussels to appoint a negotiator as soon as possible for the next round of consultations that could be convened after the Dublin meeting.
If the Europeans join, Moscow will present its proposals for Europe’s new “indivisible” security architecture, an issue that was addressed in Abu Dhabi.
In a briefing after the talks, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov did not confirm that the Europeans would join the next round of peace talks and said their current stance on Ukraine amounted to «a recipe for endless war.»
In Dec. 2021, months before the war began, Moscow set forth a series of conditions for peaceful coexistence with the West, including a veto on future NATO expansion into the post-Soviet space.
New Humanitarian Truce
Putin proposed a new humanitarian mission in Kostiantynivka (Donetsk), a city the Russians claimed to have taken control of last July, similar to the one US First Lady Melania Trump brokered in Oleshki (Kherson).
Putin said Russian forces will need five days to clear the approaches to the city of landmines, adding that about 500 people will need to be evacuated. EFE
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