Putin: Ukraine refuses ceasefire not to lift martial law

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban issued statements after their talks in Moscow.

Photo: flickr.com by Изображения армии США в Европе, CC BY 2.0

The Russian president stated it again that Russia demands Ukraine should withdraw its troops from the entire territory of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. "There are other conditions for peace," Putin added.

The Hungarian leader, in turn, noted that Europe "needs peace very much”:

"We consider peace to be the main objective of our presidency [of the Council of the European Union] for the next six months.”

Kremlin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the negotiations between Putin and Orban, told reporters that there were no prerequisites for resuming negotiations on Ukraine.

Putin and Orban discussed ways to resolve conflict in Ukraine

"Of course, there was a thorough, direct and honest exchange of views on the current international agenda, including on the Ukrainian crisis. Prime Minister Orban and I discussed possible ways to resolve it,” Putin noted.

Putin also added that Orban told him about his recent visit to Kyiv and the details of negotiations with the Ukrainian leadership. In particular, the Russian leader noted that Orban proposed a "ceasefire” to Zelensky to begin peace negotiations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Russia's new regions was one of the conditions for ending the conflict.

"We are talking about the complete withdrawal of all Ukrainian troops from Donetsk, Luhansk People's Republics, from Zaporozhye and Kherson regions,” Putin said.

The West continues to use Ukraine and its people as a "ram” and "sacrifice” against Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin also said following his meeting with Viktor Orban.

Orban wanted to know Putin's view on three questions

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban came to Moscow to find out Putin's views on three issues.

According to Orban, he wanted to know:

• What does Putin think about the currently available peace initiatives?
• What does Ptuin think about the ceasefire and peace negotiations, in what order can they be held?
• How does Putin see Europe after the war?

Following the press conference, Putin said that Ukraine does not want to cease fire because the Ukrainian leadership would thus be forced to lift martial law and hold elections. The Russian president believes that this is not beneficial for Kyiv, because in this case the chances of re-election of the Ukrainian leadership are "close to zero.”