Published: Less than 1 hour ago
Vladimir Putin is ready to leave Ukraine.
But before the war ends, he demands a written agreement with Ukraine.
– We are ready for it, says the Russian president, according to AFP.
During a summit in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, Vladimir Putin flagged the end of the fighting in Ukraine, nine months after it began.
The Russian president said that an agreement with Ukraine must first be reached, but did not specify what it would contain.
– The trust is of course almost zero, but in the end an agreement must be reached. I have said it many times that we are ready for these agreements and that we are open to them, he says.
Zelensky’s 10 demands
Ukraine has repeatedly snubbed Moscow’s agreement, and a couple of weeks ago President Zelenskyy presented a program with ten points that must be fulfilled before the countries can make peace.
It includes, among other things, that Russia must withdraw its forces, that Ukrainian forces that have been imprisoned must be released and that Ukraine’s territorial integrity must be confirmed by Russia.
– We will not allow Russia to wait it out, build up its forces and start a new series of terror and global destabilization, he said then.
– I am convinced that now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped.
“Will be wiped out”
During his speech, Putin also warned that a country that would attack Russia with nuclear weapons “will be wiped off the face of the earth,” reportr Sky News.
He argued that Russia has no plans to launch a nuclear war, but that the Kremlin’s advanced hypersonic weapons would ensure it could act forcefully if ever attacked.
The Russian president also stated that around 150,000 newly drafted soldiers are ready to be sent to the front line after the autumn mobilization campaign. This despite the fact that he previously said that the general mobilization is over. Now the concern is increasing that a second wave may be on the way, Sky News reports.