4 Jul, 2024 14:22

Putin sets condition for Ukraine ceasefire

Hostilities can only be suspended if “irreversible” steps are taken by Kiev, Vladimir Putin has said

A ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev can only be agreed if Ukraine takes certain “irreversible” steps that would be “acceptable” for Russia, President Vladimir Putin has said. Otherwise, a cessation of hostilities would be used by Kiev to rearm itself and get ready to continue the conflict, he added.

The president made the remarks during a press conference at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan on Thursday.

“We simply cannot declare a ceasefire in the hope that the opposing side will take some positive steps,” Putin said.

“We cannot allow the adversary to take advantage of this ceasefire to improve its positions, rearm itself, fill up its army through forced mobilization, and get prepared to continue the armed conflict,” he added

https://www.rt.com/russia/600447-putin-ukraine-ceasefire/

4 Jul, 2024 16:46

US responsible for Ukraine conflict – Putin

The crisis arose from the “absolutely unceremonious” policies of Washington and its satellites, according to the Russian president

Russia will continue to advocate for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict despite the fact that the crisis was caused by the actions of the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that its decision to launch an offensive against Ukraine was motivated by the country’s ambitions to become a part of NATO, as well as its ongoing war against the people of Donbass, who rejected the Kiev government that came to power after a Western-backed coup in 2014.

Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Kazakhstan capital of Astana, Putin said Moscow has repeatedly put forward specific proposals for the resolution of the Ukrainian issue. However, he added that these had been ignored or rejected by Kiev and its backers.

“Russia has always advocated and continues to advocate a peaceful political and diplomatic resolution to the situation in Ukraine – a crisis that arose as a result of the absolutely unceremonious policy of the United States and its satellites,” the Russian leader said.

He noted that Russia had presented its latest plan last month, which could “immediately” end hostilities, save countless lives, and initiate negotiations if accepted by Kiev and its Western backers

The president was apparently referring to his earlier promise to order a ceasefire if Ukraine withdraws its troops from all territories claimed by Russia, vows not to seek membership of NATO, and completes a process of demilitarization and “denazification.”

The proposal was rejected by both Kiev and its international backers, who insist on returning Ukraine to its 1991 borders. Nevertheless, Putin has said his offer will remain “on the table” for the time being, while the Kremlin has encouraged the Ukrainian leadership to “think about it.”

Previously, Putin had pointed out that Ukraine’s reluctance to accept Russia’s proposals had already resulted in it losing sovereignty over the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye early in the conflict. The president noted last month that Moscow had initially been prepared to withdraw its troops from these territories if it was promised an uninterrupted land connection to the Crimean peninsula.

Now, however, this offer is off the table and is closed to any debate, according to Putin, given that the two regions have officially become part of Russia after overwhelmingly voting to do so in public referendums in the fall of 2022

https://www.rt.com/russia/600454-putin-us-ukraine-responsible/

4 Jul, 2024 13:55

Medvedev compares Ukraine conflict to US Civil War

The former president suggested that Moscow and Kiev were similar to the northern and southern states who fought over slavery

The current conflict between Moscow and Kiev is similar to the 19th century US Civil War, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev claimed in a Telegram post on Thursday, as America celebrates its Independence Day.

In his message, the former Russian president pointed out that the American Civil War is spoken about less these days than the 1776 Declaration of Independence from the British Empire. The war, according to Medvedev, was a more significant historical event and its consequences “much more profound” on the average American citizen.

The Civil War, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, was fought between the Union and a group of southern states that chose to separate from the US and form the so-called Confederacy. A key part of the conflict was then-President Abraham Lincoln’s desire to abolish slavery, which the southern states opposed.

One reason the topic of the Civil War is now downplayed, according to Medvedev, is because the “gloomy parallels with today” have become increasingly obvious, and there is now a “premonition” of another internal conflict in the US.

Another reason, Medvedev claimed, is that the war between the Union states and the slave-owning Confederacy “greatly resembles the Ukrainian conflict.” He suggested that these parallels “are more than obvious.”

“In terms of industrial potential and human resources, the difference between the North and the South was comparable to that between today’s Russia and Ukraine. And with that, the ideals of the adversaries greatly differed. For the North, it was equality, liberty, same laws for all, while the South propagated inhumane, inveterate racism,” Medvedev wrote.

He argued that, during the Civil War, “the same foreign bastards” like England and France “brazenly intervened” and were hoping for the South to win. They supported the slave-owners “in the same way they support Nazi Kiev today, together with the present-day US,” he added.

Medvedev said the outcome of the US Civil War and the abolition of slavery was one of the brightest pages in America’s short history, and suggested that the international public should view the Ukraine conflict through a similar lens.

“In essence,” he concluded, the Ukraine conflict is “a civil war among the same people, in which the majority are forced to defend their independence with weapons, fighting against the new Nazis who are once again supported by corrupt Europe and the American military industrial complex.”

He predicted that, just like in the 19th century, the outcome of the current conflict would be “the unification and revival of Great Russia,” andparaphrased former US President Donald Trump in claiming it would “Make Russia Great Again.”

https://www.rt.com/russia/600445-medvedev-us-civil-war-ukraine/