Russian President Vladimir Putin's conditions for a ceasefire are unrealistic and tantamount to demanding that Ukraine disarm itself and surrender, analysts say.
Putin said on March 13 that Russia was ready to agree to the U.S.-backed 30-day-long ceasefire in Ukraine but then followed by listing a number of demands -- a ban on Ukrainian mobilization or training of troops and a halt on Western military aid for Kyiv.
Putin also hinted that Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk Oblast must surrender.
Later the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, met Putin in Moscow.
Trump reacted by saying on March 14, "We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible, bloody war can finally come to an end."
"It appears that Putin pretends to accept a ceasefire in principle, in order not to be criticized for being obstructive, but demands concessions as a precondition," Richard Betts, professor emeritus of war and peace studies at Columbia University, told the Kyiv Independent.
https://kyivindependent.com/conditions-for-ukraines-surrender-why-putins-condit ions-for-ceasefire-make-no-sense/
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* Origin: Ukraine News from various sources (2:263/1)