Until now, the war between Russia and Ukraine is still ongoing. However, according to a Kremlin spokesman, Monday (7/3/2022), Russia has told Ukraine that it is ready to stop military operations "in an instant" if Kyiv meets the list of conditions.
Citing Reuters, Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had four demands that the war be stopped.
- Ukraine immediately stops its military action
- Amend its constitution to establish a policy of neutrality
- Recognize Crimea as Russian territory
- Recognize the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states.
It was Russia's most explicit statement so far of the conditions it wants to apply to Ukraine to stop what it calls "special military operations", now in its 12th day.
Peskov told Reuters in a telephone interview that Ukraine was aware of the conditions.
"And they were told that all of this could be stopped in an instant."
So far, there has been no immediate reaction from the Ukrainian side.
Russia has attacked Ukraine from the north, east and south, pounding cities including Kyiv, Kharkiv and the port of Mariupol.
The invasion, launched on February 24, has caused Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War Two, sparked worldwide outrage and led to severe sanctions against Moscow.
But a Kremlin spokesman insisted Russia was not seeking to make further territorial claims in Ukraine and said it was "untrue" that they demanded that Kyiv be handed over.
"We have completely finished the demilitarization of Ukraine. We will finish it. But the main thing is for Ukraine to stop its military action. They have to stop their military action and then no one will shoot," he told Reuters.
On the issue of neutrality, Peskov said: "They should make amendments to the constitution according to which Ukraine will reject any goal of entering any bloc."
He added, "We've also talked about how they should recognize that Crimea is Russian territory and that they need to recognize that Donetsk and Lugansk are independent countries. And that's it. That will stop in a moment."
New negotiations
The outline of Russia's demands was released as delegations from Russia and Ukraine prepare to meet on Monday for a third round of talks aimed at ending Russia's war against Ukraine.
This began soon after Putin recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian government forces since 2014, as independent territories. This is an act denounced as illegal by the West.
"It's not us who took Lugansk and Donetsk from Ukraine. Donetsk and Lugansk don't want to be part of Ukraine. But that doesn't mean they have to be destroyed as a result," Peskov said.
"The rest. Ukraine is an independent country that will live as it wants, but in conditions of neutrality," he stressed.
He said all the demands had been formulated and submitted during the first two rounds of talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, which took place last week.
"We hope that all this will go well and that they will react in an appropriate way," Peskov said.
