Russia willing to negotiate terms of surrender with Ukraine

Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

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Russia says that it is willing to negotiate terms of surrender with the Ukrainian government in Kyiv regarding the ongoing military offensive currently taking place in the country.

In a statement by Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his willingness to engage in diplomacy with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with a focus on Ukraine’s guarantee of neutrality status to NATO, and the promise of no weapons on its territory.

It is unclear as to what Putin means by “no weapons,” whether that refers to arms in general or specifically nuclear weapons, as has been threatened by the Ukrainian president in previous days, Rebel News reported.

According to Peskov, who spoke to Russian state media, the surrender would enable the “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine, and assuage Russia’s concerns about the threat Ukraine poses to the security of its state and people.

“The president formulated his vision of what we would expect from Ukraine in order for the so-called ‘red-line’ problems to be resolved. This is neutral status, and this is a refusal to deploy weapons,” Peskov stated.

The Kremlin's press secretary said the Russian president will determine the timing of the negotiations, but suggested that Russia will only engage in diplomatic talks “if the leadership of Ukraine is ready to talk about it.”

In other words, any diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine will be done on Putin's terms.

“The president formulated his vision of what we would expect from Ukraine in order for the so-called ‘red-line’ problems to be resolved. This is neutral status, and this is a refusal to deploy weapons,” Peskov added, stating that, if Kyiv agrees to meet the demands, the current military attack on Ukraine could be called off.

As previously reported, Putin launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine, with the goal of pacifying the country and “securing the peace” in the breakaway provinces located in Ukraine’s Donbass region.

Throughout the course of the day, what began as a special forces operation has evolved into a full-scale assault on Ukrainian airports, military bases, and cities, which were targeted by precision air strikes in an attempt to cripple any military response from Ukraine.