Vladimir Putin said he does not reject the idea of peace talks on Ukraine, but the Russian president added that there could be no ceasefire as long as Ukrainian forces are “on the offensive.”
Speaking after meeting African leaders in St. Petersburg, Putin told a news conference that African and Chinese peace initiatives could serve as the basis for ending the war in Ukraine, but are “impossible to implement” at the moment.
“The Ukrainian army is on the offensive, they are attacking, they are implementing a large-scale strategic offensive operation,” Putin was quoted as saying by the media. reports. “We cannot cease fire when we are under attack,” she said.
“We do not reject them,” Putin said, referring to the peace initiatives. “For this process to start, there must be an agreement on both sides,” the Russian leader said of the possibility of peace talks.
African leaders meeting with Putin in St. Petersburg last week issued a direct appeal for Moscow to end the war in Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February 2022.
“This war must end. And it can only end on the basis of justice and reason,” Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chad’s foreign minister and current chairman of the African Union Commission, told Putin at the Russia-Africa summit.
Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso said an African peace plan “deserves the greatest attention.”
“It should not be underestimated,” Nguesso said. “Once again we make an urgent call for the restoration of peace in Europe.”
Senegalese President Macky Sall also called for “detente to help create calm”, while South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he hoped “constructive compromise and negotiation” could end the conflict.
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