Ukraine must agree to irreversible demilitarisation steps for a ceasefire, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded at a press conference following the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana on Thursday.
"When our troops were standing near Kiev, we received an offer and even an insistent request from our Western partners to cease fire, to cease hostilities so that certain actions could be taken from the Ukrainian side. And we did so. <...> The Ukrainian side did not stop the fighting. <...> We cannot allow the enemy to use the ceasefire to improve its situation. <...> We need to ensure that the adversary agrees to take steps that are irreversible and acceptable to the Russian Federation," Putin said.
In addition, the president assessed the possibility of engaging mediators for negotiations with Ukraine.
"It is unlikely that a mediator would be empowered to sign the final documents. And moreover, not even to sign final documents, but to lead to the signing of even final documents. The fundamental issue here is not only the competence of these intermediaries but also their authority," the Russian leader noted.
On June 30, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that peace negotiations with Russia could be conducted through a model involving mediators which was also used in the negotiations on the Black Sea grain deal.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
For ceasefire, Ukraine must agree to 'irreversible' steps on demilitarisation - Putin
Ukraine must agree to irreversible demilitarisation steps for a ceasefire, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded at a press conference following the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana on Thursday.
"When our troops were standing near Kiev, we received an offer and even an insistent request from our Western partners to cease fire, to cease hostilities so that certain actions could be taken from the Ukrainian side. And we did so. <...> The Ukrainian side did not stop the fighting. <...> We cannot allow the enemy to use the ceasefire to improve its situation. <...> We need to ensure that the adversary agrees to take steps that are irreversible and acceptable to the Russian Federation," Putin said.
In addition, the president assessed the possibility of engaging mediators for negotiations with Ukraine.
"It is unlikely that a mediator would be empowered to sign the final documents. And moreover, not even to sign final documents, but to lead to the signing of even final documents. The fundamental issue here is not only the competence of these intermediaries but also their authority," the Russian leader noted.
On June 30, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that peace negotiations with Russia could be conducted through a model involving mediators which was also used in the negotiations on the Black Sea grain deal.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Ukraine must agree to irreversible demilitarisation steps for a ceasefire, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded at a press conference following the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana on Thursday.
"When our troops were standing near Kiev, we received an offer and even an insistent request from our Western partners to cease fire, to cease hostilities so that certain actions could be taken from the Ukrainian side. And we did so. <...> The Ukrainian side did not stop the fighting. <...> We cannot allow the enemy to use the ceasefire to improve its situation. <...> We need to ensure that the adversary agrees to take steps that are irreversible and acceptable to the Russian Federation," Putin said.
In addition, the president assessed the possibility of engaging mediators for negotiations with Ukraine.
"It is unlikely that a mediator would be empowered to sign the final documents. And moreover, not even to sign final documents, but to lead to the signing of even final documents. The fundamental issue here is not only the competence of these intermediaries but also their authority," the Russian leader noted.
On June 30, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that peace negotiations with Russia could be conducted through a model involving mediators which was also used in the negotiations on the Black Sea grain deal.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.