Last month, the Russian president considered an agreement with Kyiv, but does not see any prospects.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lost interest to a diplomatic settlement of the war with Ukraine, and instead seems to intend to seize as much Ukrainian territory as possible. This was stated by three people who were informed about the talks with the Russian president, according to the Financial Times.
Putin, who was seriously considering a peace deal with Ukraine after Russia was defeated on the battlefield last month, told people involved in trying to end the conflict that he saw no prospects for a settlement.
Although Moscow and Kyiv agreed on the first draft of the communiqué at a meeting in Istanbul in late March, talks came to a standstill after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of committing war crimes against civilians in cities such as Bucha and Mariupol.
According to two people, Putin said that the peace effort had reached a stalemate and was furious after Ukraine sank “Moscow”, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
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“There was hope for an agreement. Putin walked here and there. He needs to find a way out of this situation, “said one of the interlocutors.
” After Putin sank, “Putin was against signing something.” […] He does not look like a winner after “Moscow” because it was humiliating, “he added.
Ukrainian and Western officials have always questioned his commitment to peace talks, suspecting it is a way to buy time for the Russian offensive.
The Russian president seems to have a distorted view of the war, set out by his generals and shown on Russian television, people informed of the conversation with him said. They added that he stands his ground, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
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Mediators such as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, European Council President Charles Michel and Chelsea football club owner billionaire Roman Abramovich have been trying to persuade Putin to meet with Zelensky, hoping they can break the deadlock.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators have pushed most other issues to the background, trying to reach an agreement on Kyiv's security guarantees if it declares neutrality and abandons its bid to join NATO.
But Putin told Michelle in a telephone conversation Friday that talks had stalled because Ukraine had “put up a wall” and said that “now was not the time” to meet with Zelensky, according to a person informed of the conversation. The negotiators interpreted this as Russia's belief that it could seize more territory, rather than as an indication that negotiations need more time to find areas of consensus.
Putin avoids meeting with Zelensky “by all means,” said a man involved in the peace talks. “He wants everything resolved before their personal meeting.”
Read also: There are no good PR scenarios to get out of the war. The Kremlin does not know how to end it – media
Zelensky said on April 23 that he wants to continue negotiations, but said that Ukraine will not continue negotiations if people are killed in Mariupol or if Russian authorities in occupied southern Kherson will hold a separatist referendum.
People involved in the negotiation process say officials in Kyiv are concerned that Putin may go beyond Russia's stated goal of capturing eastern Donbass and instead try to seize the entire southeast by cutting Ukraine off from the sea.
Ukraine is confident which will be able to push Russian troops further after Russia was defeated in Putin's original plan to quickly seize the country. But officials are increasingly worried that Moscow could resort to tactical nuclear weapons if it fails further, two people said.
According to an FT source, during a meeting with Michel in Kyiv on Wednesday, Zelensky said that Ukrainian public opinion did not support the continuation of peace talks, adding that he was aware that the fight against Putin was more popular than concessions.
Read also: Zelensky called Erdogan ahead of talks with Putin
Erdogan spoke with Zelensky on April 24 in an attempt to revive deadlocked talks. The Turkish leader said Ankara was ready to help. On Friday, April 22, Erdogan said he hoped to talk to Putin in the coming days .
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