"Putin always plays with marked cards," -Pistorius
The Kremlin’s recent statements about its readiness for negotiations are part of a disinformation campaign and a continuation of the hybrid war, as evidenced by the violation of the announced three-day "ceasefire."
German Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius made this statement at a press conference in Kyiv following a meeting with Ukrainian Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov, according to Censor.NET, citing Ukrinform.
Putin's Bluff
"Vladimir Putin is now saying once again that the war in Ukraine is supposedly nearing its end. Any informed observer immediately wonders: if he sees the end of the war approaching, why doesn’t he just end it? Then he would be the one in control of the situation," he said.
At the same time, according to the minister, the Kremlin continues to follow its old playbook by setting its own terms. "It is, as always, setting its own terms. I hope I am wrong in considering this yet another attempt at deception, but we cannot rule it out, and it appears to be part of his hybrid war," said the German defense minister.
Negotiations with Putin
Pistorius emphasized that during previous rounds of negotiations, Putin had repeatedly violated the agreements.
"Every time there were talks about a ceasefire or peace, he ended up playing his cards close to his chest or acting in a way that was completely at odds with what had been agreed upon or stated during the negotiations," he said.
The German minister emphasized that ending the war depends entirely on the Kremlin: "The truth is—and I will never tire of repeating this—that if Vladimir Putin wants to end his aggressive war against Ukraine, he can do so very simply: just withdraw his troops or agree to concrete negotiations without preconditions."
He also drew attention to Russia’s violation of the "three-day ceasefire" it had announced. "Even the so-called three-day ceasefire over the weekend was violated again. And it is Putin who bears the responsibility for ending this war and this terror—and it is indeed terror, especially given the impact on the Ukrainian civilian population," the minister emphasized.
A distraction from the problems in Russia
According to Pistorius, the Kremlin’s current rhetoric is linked to Russia’s military problems.
"I think that with his current actions, Putin is trying to divert attention from his own weakness. Right now, he has almost no territorial gains to show for himself. His army is constantly losing parts of the territory it has already captured. That is precisely why Putin is still bluffing and playing games in the public sphere," said the German defense minister.
In this regard, he said, the allies must continue to strengthen Ukraine: "Our task as Ukraine's partners is to continue strengthening the country militarily. On the one hand, this is so that Ukraine has a strong negotiating position when the time comes, and on the other, to demonstrate that the country is capable of successfully defending itself."
