Espreso. Global
Updated

Putin rejects ceasefire before negotiations with Ukraine

5 July, 2024 Friday
14:45

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has said that the Istanbul agreements can be used as a basis for negotiations with Ukraine, but rejected the possibility of a ceasefire before the talks begin

client/title.list_title

He said this at the SCO summit in Astana on July 4, Russian propaganda agency RIA Novosti reported.

Сommenting on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's proposal for a ceasefire to start negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, Putin said, "A ceasefire on the contact line is impossible before peace talks with Ukraine begin."

"Moscow cannot declare a ceasefire, hoping for positive steps from the other side," the Russian leader emphasized.

Back in April 2024, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia would not cease fire even if negotiations with Ukraine began.

At the SCO summit, Putin also said that "it is impossible to end the conflict with Ukraine through mediators, but Moscow welcomes mediation itself."

Putin on the so-called Istanbul agreements

Putin thanked Turkish President Recep Erdogan for his mediation in the drafting of the Istanbul agreements with Ukraine. According to the Russian dictator, the terms, and principles of the ceasefire developed during the face-to-face talks between Russia and Ukraine in March 2022 "have not disappeared".

"These agreements were initialed by the head of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation, and therefore, apparently, they were quite satisfactory to Ukraine, these agreements - the Istanbul agreements - remain on the table and can be the basis for continuing these negotiations," the Kremlin's leader said.

Putin thanked the summit participants "for their sincere and concrete proposals" for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, and stressed that Russia had not given up on negotiations. He claims that Ukraine abandoned the talks at the instruction of London and Washington.

"Russia, as you know, has never refused and is now ready to continue peace talks. It was Ukraine that refused to negotiate, and it did so publicly on the direct instructions of London, and therefore there is no doubt about it, and Washington, as Ukrainian officials say directly and openly," the Russian leader concluded.

Ukraine's response

In a comment to LIGA.net, Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Policy, said that no Istanbul agreements exist.

"The fact is that no Istanbul agreements exist in nature. Putin is blatantly lying. Yes, negotiations took place, but after the whole world saw the traces of Russian crimes in Bucha and Irpin, they lost their meaning. And no agreements were reached," the MP said.

According to him, agreements can only be discussed when the parties have "clearly and unambiguously" agreed on the text of the document. Nothing of the sort happened in Istanbul.

Regarding the alleged initialing of the agreements, Merezhko noted that according to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969, initialing is possible only when both parties have fully agreed on the text of the document and will not return to it. Putin cannot but know this, but he is deliberately lying, the Ukrainian politician emphasized.

"Putin is trying to pretend that he is for 'peace' and a 'diplomatic solution', but in fact he is not interested in just peace and compliance with international law. He wants to destroy the statehood of Ukraine. This is his main goal. Therefore, negotiations with him do not make sense," Merezhko summarized.

Tags:
Read also:
  • News
2024, Saturday
21 December
16:34
Ukraine's Armed Forces form unit to protect cultural heritage
16:20
Updated
Drones attack elite high-rise buildings in Russia's Kazan, explosions heard at gunpowder plant
16:16
Ukraine approves Wolly remote-controlled combat module for use in army
15:57
OPINION
Crimea: panic among 'relocated residents' becomes key negotiation tool
15:35
Exclusive
Ukrainian forces face repeated tactical traps since 2022, encirclement looms near Kurakhove
15:13
Russian units in Ukraine’s Kherson report sabotage, suicides
14:54
OPINION
Russia can be destroyed by local barons
14:32
EU hits record high in Russian gas imports in 2024 - media
14:10
Review
Russian forces attempt to encircle Ukrainian troops: battles near Kurakhove. Serhiy Zgurets' column
13:47
Unmasking Spanish-language media pushing Kremlin narratives (Part 2)
13:06
Guerrillas expose redeployment of Russian military equipment toward Kurakhove
12:52
Exclusive
Russia's cyberattack on state registries aims to undermine Ukraine's elections - journalist
12:31
211 combat clashes occur on Russian-Ukrainian front on Dec. 20 - General Staff
12:07
Review
From Vietnam to Ukraine: how TOW missiles have been taking out Russian tanks
11:48
Ukraine launches first robotic attack without infantry support - ISW
11:30
Updated
Russia attacks Ukraine with drones, missiles: casualties reported in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia
11:09
Russia launches 18 attacks on Ukraine ahead of UN Security Council meetings - Ambassador
10:51
Russia sets up TV and radio network to strengthen propaganda in occupied Ukraine
10:34
Russia loses 1,860 soldiers, 32 artillery systems, 10 tanks in one day of war in Ukraine
2024, Friday
20 December
21:30
Exclusive
“Russia planned Oreshnik attack, but something failed”: diplomat Chaly on Kyiv missile strike
21:10
Exclusive
Hacker attack on Ukraine's state registries is painful, but not catastrophic - cybersecurity expert
20:50
Ukrainian defenders repel Russian subversive groups near Kherson
20:25
OPINION
Putin admits Russia's war in Ukraine is driven by boredom
19:50
Fico blames Zelenskyy for gas crisis in Slovakia
19:29
Ukraine demands Orbán stop speculating on war, “Christmas truce”
19:01
146 combat engagements reported at front, Russian forces most active in Kursk sector
18:40
Germany sends additional IRIS-T air defense system to Ukraine
18:16
Ukraine's fiber-optic drones pass testing phase
17:50
Six embassies in Kyiv damaged in Russian missile attack
17:28
Lithuania to allocate €10 million for 'Danish model' implementation in Ukraine
17:00
Exclusive
Russia's strike on Kyiv not response to Zelenskyy's statements - military expert
16:33
Ukraine to receive first $2 billion from frozen Russian assets via World Bank — Ukraine’s PM
16:15
Ukraine plans to open two new consulates in Poland
15:55
Russian attack puts Zaporizhzhia NPP on verge of blackout
15:41
Exclusive
U.S. could collapse energy prices, undermining Russian economy — politician Rybachuk
15:19
Ukraine returns bodies of 503 fallen defenders
14:53
U.S. to announce final package of new weapons for Ukraine in coming days - media
14:41
Russia's Iskander, KN-23 strike on Kyiv: planned operation or Putin's spiteful whim?
14:20
Ukraine denies information about forces encircled near Kurakhove
13:50
OPINION
Manipulation: no longer aggressor and victim, but “parties to conflict”
More news