President Vladimir Putin is pushing U.S.
President Donald Trump to acknowledge Russias addition of Ukrainian area in exchange for a pledge not to seize more land, the Kommersant business newspaper reported late Tuesday, mentioning confidential sources from a closed-door meeting where the Kremlin leader described his stance.Russia stated the addition of Ukraines Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions in September 2022 after sham referendums, in spite of not fully controlling any of them.
Moscow likewise annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
According to Kommersant, continuous U.S.-Russia settlements for ending the war in Ukraine center on protecting Washingtons acknowledgment of all five areas as Russian area under the argument that theres no reclaiming what Russia has gained.If this [acknowledgment] takes place quickly, Russia will not lay claim to Odesa and other Ukrainian territories, the publication composed, communicating Putins message following the annual congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, a major service lobby.Ahead of a highly prepared for call with Trump on Tuesday, Putin argued that the major invasion of Ukraine could have been avoided if the West had actually initially accepted Russias sovereignty over Crimea, along with the Donetsk and Luhansk areas, where Russian-backed separatists have actually been combating Ukrainian forces considering that 2014.
Kommersants report recommended that Putin means to keep promoting territorial gains, as Ukrainian forces dont have time to dig in.
Sources at the meeting informed the publication that Putin trusts Trump and thinks the 2 can strike a deal.On Wednesday, the Kremlin said Putin and Trump did not talk about the U.S.
potentially recognizingRussias annexation of Ukrainian territory during Tuesdays phone call.Putin agreed to a 30-day pause on attacks against energy infrastructure, however the discussion between the two leaders failed to produce a broader ceasefire agreement between the 2 warring sides.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated he supported the limited ceasefire, however added that he thinks Putins rejection to consent to a wider deal showed that the Russian leader was not ready for peace and still looks for to weaken Ukraine.U.S.-Russia negotiations are arranged to continue in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Trumps Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff informed Fox News after Tuesdays call.