Putin proposed freezing current front line in Ukraine to reach peace deal – FT
The Kremlin dictator, Vladimir Putin, has proposed to the United States a halt to hostilities in Ukraine along the entire current front line, as part of efforts aimed at reaching a peace deal with U.S. President Donald Trump. Russia may also agree to relinquish its "claims" to the non-occupied parts of four Ukrainian regions.
This was reported by the Financial Times, citing sources, Censor.NET reports.
According to them, Putin told US special envoy Steve Witkoff about this when he visited Russia in early April.
Yes, the Russian dictator is reportedly ready to back down from his earlier demand for full control over Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions — if the United States recognizes Crimea as part of Russia and blocks Ukraine’s accession to NATO.
"The proposal is the first formal indication Putin has given since the war’s early months three years ago that Russia could step back from its maximalist demands to end the invasion.," the newspaper writes.
However, as the FT notes, European officials briefed on US efforts to end the war cautioned that Putin would probably use the apparent concession as bait to lure Trump into accepting Russia’s other demands and forcing them on Ukraine as a fait accompli.
"There is a lot of pressure on Kyiv right now to give up on things so Trump can claim victory," one of them said.
Kremlin chief Witkoff's proposals led the US to propose a possible "peaceful settlement", some details of which were reported in the media, the newspaper adds.
Ukrainian officials told the FT that they were amenable to some of the ideas floated by Trump and his team without specifying which in particular.
The US proposals include deploying a European peacekeeping contingent in Ukraine as well as a separate, non-Nato military force to help monitor a ceasefire along a demilitarised zone spanning the entirety of the more than 1,000km front line.
Earlier, Bloomberg reported that the United States had submitted proposals to its allies for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, including the definition of conditions for the cessation of hostilities and the easing of sanctions against Moscow in the event of a prolonged ceasefire.
The WP also cited sources as saying that Ukrainian and European officials who will meet in London on Wednesday, 23 April, should respond to the US proposal to officially recognise Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and freeze the front line as part of a peace deal.
