Kremlin Reiterates Stance on Ukraine Peace Deal Conditions

The Kremlin maintains its stance on Ukraine needing to withdraw from four regions and renounce NATO ambitions for a peace deal. President Putin emphasized Russia's objective to control the regions, rejecting Ukraine's recent proposal to mitigate hostilities. Talks with Belarus' President Lukashenko were also held regarding the war.

The Kremlin announced that their conditions for a potential peace deal in Ukraine have remained unchanged, demanding Kyiv's forces withdraw from four regions and abandon its NATO aspirations. This stance was affirmed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a televised interview.

Putin rejected a recent proposal by Ukraine, which suggested a mutual halt to long-range strikes and confined fighting to the contested regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia—claimed by Russia but deemed an illegal occupancy by Ukraine. A spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy did not immediately comment.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated the consistent position, highlighting previous communication to both the Kyiv regime and American negotiators. Additionally, Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko discussed the ongoing conflict during a recent meeting ahead of Lukashenko's trip to China.