Prior to US negotiations in Moscow Putin restates his territorial demands
Prior to meetings with the US in Moscow, Putin intensifies his demands for Ukrainian territory.
President Vladimir Putin has reiterated his fundamental demands for an end to the conflict in Ukraine, saying that Russia will only surrender its weapons if Kyiv's forces leave Moscow-claimed territory.
Putin has long advocated for the formal acknowledgement of the Ukrainian areas that Russia has forcibly taken.
These include the Donbas, which are primarily occupied by Moscow and comprise Luhansk and Donetsk, and the Crimean peninsula, which it unlawfully seized in 2014.
Rewarding Russia for its aggressiveness is out of the question for Kyiv, which has refused to give up the portions of the Donbas it still controls.
During a visit to Kyrgyzstan, Putin told reporters that Kyiv wanted to fight "to the last Ukrainian" and that Russia was "in principle" prepared to do the same.
He reiterated his belief that Russia has the upper hand on the battlefield and that fighting won't stop until Ukrainian forces leave the affected areas.
"If they don't withdraw, we'll achieve this by force of arms," he stated.
However, Russia's gradual advances in eastern Ukraine have come at a high human cost. Moscow would need about two more years to take control of the remaining Donetsk region at this rate, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War.
Putin's comments on Thursday marked the first time he addressed the frenzied diplomatic actions of the last week, which saw the US and Ukraine engage in intense talks over a peace plan that American and Russian officials apparently draughted in October.
The proposal was later changed because it was so significantly biassed in favour of Moscow's requests. However, it is believed that it ignores the occupied territories issue, which is the main area of contention between Moscow and Kyiv, along with security guarantees for Ukraine.
According to Putin, Russia has now been offered a fresh draft proposal, which may serve as the "basis" for a future accord to end the conflict.
He did, however, add that talking about "certain specific points that need to be put in diplomatic language" was "absolutely necessary".
Putin responded, "This is the point of our discussion with our American counterparts," when asked if Crimea and the Donbas might be acknowledged as being under Russian de facto authority but not legally.
He indicated that in the first part of next week, a US group, including special envoy Steve Witkoff, was anticipated in Moscow. US President Donald Trump informed reporters that his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, might accompany Witkoff to Moscow.
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is scheduled to visit Kyiv later this week, according to Andriy Yermak, Ukraine's top presidential assistant.
Trump stated on Wednesday that there were "only a few remaining points of disagreement" between Russia and Ukraine, implying that any discussion of these issues at a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, would only take place if a peace agreement was reached.
Putin reiterated his disdain for the Ukrainian leadership, which he claimed to be illegitimate, in his remarks to media. Therefore, he continued, there was "no use" in signing any documents with them.
Ukraine has been under martial law since the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and has therefore been unable to hold scheduled elections. President Zelensky's mandate ended in the spring, but earlier this year the Ukrainian parliament unanimously upheld his legality.
Additionally, Putin disregarded European leaders' warnings that Russia might launch an attack on Europe in the coming decades.
"That sounds laughable to us, really," he replied.
Although the White House and Donald Trump have sounded hopeful about the new diplomatic drive for peace negotiations, Europeans have consistently voiced doubts about Putin's sincere desire to put an end to the conflict.
Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, accused Russia on Wednesday of maintaining a post-World War II perspective and of viewing Europe as a "sphere of influence" where independent countries could be "carved up."
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