Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow was unwilling on Ukraine’s part to meet the conditions of what he described as an initial peace deal reached in March.
Putin told reporters in televised statements that Kyiv was not abiding by the terms of the initial peace accord, which he said was “implemented in practice” in March, without going into details.
“Of course, the final decision…depends on the willingness of the contracting parties to implement the agreements they have entered into,” he added. Today we see that the authorities in Kiev have no such desire.
Talks took place in March, with both sides making proposals but making no progress. At that time, Zelensky said, he could only hope for a concrete outcome of the talks.
Appearing on Russian state television to answer media questions at the end of his visit to Iran, Putin said Moscow was ready to facilitate Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea, but wanted to lift remaining restrictions on Russian grain exports.
On Tuesday, Putin said that not all issues related to grain exports have been resolved yet, “but it is very good that there are movements.”
The Kremlin said there was no time frame for the conflict, which it called a “special military operation” to ensure its security. Ukraine and the West condemn the move as an unjustified war of aggression.
Andrei Yermak, director of Zelensky’s office, said in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday that Russia was trying to “draw” Ukraine into a protracted conflict until the winter.
“It is very important that we do not go into winter (before the conflict is resolved),” Yarmak added. The Russians will have more time to consolidate, which will certainly make it difficult for a Ukrainian counterattack.
It’s been over two weeks since Russia’s last big gain; Captured the city of Lysansk in eastern Ukraine. But in now-familiar fashion, Russian missiles struck targets across Ukraine on Tuesday.
Brussels is expected to publish plans on Wednesday for how the EU’s 27 member states will cut gas consumption. A draft document of the plan seen by Reuters did not specify the exact figure for the cut target.
Putin said Kremlin-controlled energy company Gazprom was ready to fulfill its obligations on gas exports and was not responsible for reducing gas transport capacity.
(Reuters)