The United States and NATO on Friday rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demands that Ukraine withdraw from territories claimed by Moscow to end the Kremlin’s invasion.
“Putin has illegally occupied sovereign Ukrainian territory. He is not in any position to dictate to Ukraine what they must do to achieve peace,” said Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin at the end of a NATO meeting in Brussels.
“He could end this today if he chose to, and we call upon him to do that and leave Ukrainian sovereign territory.”
Putin stated on Friday that Moscow would only cease its offensive on Ukraine if Kyiv withdrew its troops from the east and south and abandoned its bid for NATO membership.
Ukraine swiftly rejected Putin’s hardline conditions to halt the full-scale military offensive that began in February 2022, as Kyiv seeks international support at a major peace summit in Switzerland this weekend.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg also criticized Putin’s conditions for initiating Ukraine peace talks.
“This is not a proposal made in good faith,” Stoltenberg told reporters.
“This proposal means that Russia expects Ukrainians to give up significantly more land than Russia has been able to occupy so far,” he said.
“This is a proposal of more aggression and occupation, demonstrating that Russia aims to control Ukraine.”