- Putin said he would accept a ceasefire if Ukraine gave up four regions
- He also wanted Ukraine to drop its NATO ascension bid
- But world leaders have condemned the proposed terms
World leaders have condemned Vladimir Putin’s proposed ceasefire terms for Ukraine, claiming that they would be a ‘dictatorial peace.’
Putin claimed on Friday that he would agree to laying down arms in Ukraine if Volodymyr Zelensky’s army withdrew from four regions that Russia has laid claim to since February 2022.
The autocrat also said Ukraine had to renounce plans to join NATO if it wanted a ceasefire.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ridiculed Putin’s proposals, which she said would mean Ukraine would have to ‘withdraw from Ukraine.’
Germany’s Olaf Scholz, meanwhile, said accepting the proposal would’ve lead to a ‘dictatorial peace.’
World leaders have condemned Vladimir Putin’s (pictured) proposed ceasefire terms for Ukraine
Putin claimed on Friday that he would agree to laying down arms in Ukraine if Volodymyr Zelensky’s (pictured) army withdrew from four regions
Rishi Sunak (pictured, left) accused the Russian president of ‘spinning a phoney narrative about his willingness to negotiate’
Rishi Sunak accused the Russian president of ‘spinning a phoney narrative about his willingness to negotiate’.
He added that Russia’s allies ‘are on the wrong side of history’.
Ukraine has already refused the peace terms, with Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Zelensky, telling the BBC during a two-day peace summit in Switzerland there would be ‘no compromise on independence, sovereignty or territorial integrity.’
More than 90 countries and NGOs are attending the event, the largest gathering in support of Ukraine since the start of the invasion.
But little material change is expected to come from the summit, as Russia was not invited and China, a key military, trade and security ally of Russia, is not attending.
After world leaders stood together to offer their support on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky voiced hope of garnering international agreement around a proposal to end the war that he could eventually present to Moscow.
More than 90 countries and NGOs are attending the event, the largest gathering in support of Ukraine since the start of the invasion
An underground School basement used as shelter by displaced civilians is seen in Donetsk Oblast
‘We must decide together what a just peace means for the world and how it can be achieved in a lasting way,’ Zelensky told assembled leaders at the luxury Burgenstock retreat overlooking Lake Lucerne.
The talks are framed around areas of common ground between Zelensky’s 10-point peace plan presented in late 2022, and UN resolutions on the war that passed with widespread support.
The tight remit was an attempt to garner the broadest support by sticking firmly on topics covered by international law and the United Nations charter.
Countries were to break out into three working groups on Sunday looking at nuclear safety and security, humanitarian issues, and food security and freedom of navigation on the Black Sea.
