Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and Vladimir Putin at Normandy Four summit in Paris, 9 December 2019. Photo: THIBAULT CAMUS / POOL
Vladimir Putin is prepared to cease military action if the current frontline in Ukraine is used as a starting point for negotiations, Reuters reported Friday, citing four anonymous high-level sources.
Three sources close to Putin’s inner circle told Reuters that Putin had expressed frustration at what he sees as the West attempting to “stymie” negotiations with Kyiv. He is also reported to have described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s outright rejection of peace talks regrettable, and to have made clear he was prepared to continue the war if Ukraine and the West ignored his proposal.
According to one high-level source, “Putin can fight many wars, for as long as it takes, but he is prepared to call a ceasefire to ‘freeze’ the war”. Two other sources told Reuters that as things stood, the war could be sold to the Russian people as a victory.
Some Western analysts saw the appointment earlier this month of economist Andrey Belousov as Russia’s defence minister as a sign the economy was being placed on a permanent war footing to win a protracted conflict, Reuters added.
Three of the sources said that Putin understood that further military success would require a second mobilisation, while the fourth pointed out that Putin’s domestic popularity had taken a hit after the first partial mobilisation in September 2022.
The revelations come ahead of a global peace summit due to be held in Switzerland on 15-16 June, to which 160 states — excluding Russia — have been invited. Delegates are expected to discuss nuclear security, as well as a peace plan proposed by Zelensky, which includes a clause on the withdrawal of Russian troops to Ukraine’s 1991 borders.
