Putin says he will only end war if Ukraine stops resisting

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine on Sunday that Russia’s military operation will only be halted if Kiev stops resisting and complies with all Kremlin demands.

Putin told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan over the phone that Ukraine’s negotiators should take a more “constructive” approach to talks with Moscow to take account of the reality on Ukrainian soil.

Putin, whose comments were published in a Kremlin statement about the call, said his “special military operation” in Ukraine was going according to plan.

“It was underlined that the suspension of the special operation is only possible if Kiev stops military operations and complies with the well-known Russian demands,” the Kremlin said.

Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, calls its actions on its former Soviet neighbor a “special operation” that seeks to destroy Ukraine’s military capabilities, purge the country of what it says are nationalists and make it a neutral state. .

The Kremlin leader told Erdogan that Moscow is open to dialogue with the Ukrainian authorities, but that he hopes Ukrainian negotiators will take a more constructive approach in the next round of talks.

“[…] attention was drawn to the futility of any attempt to prolong the negotiation process, which is being used by the Ukrainian security forces to regroup their forces and resources,” the Kremlin said.

“It is expected that during the next planned round of negotiations, representatives of Ukraine will show a more constructive approach, taking full account of emerging realities,” the Russian government concluded.

Russia and Ukraine will hold a third round of talks on Monday on a possible ceasefire, Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamiya said in a Facebook post on Saturday, without providing further details. Russia has not yet confirmed the new date.