Russia would suspend “military operation” if Ukraine accepts Moscow’s demands: Putin

Europe, Middle East, News March 7, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Russia would suspend its ongoing “special operation” in Ukraine if Kyiv “stops military operations and carries out well-known Russian demands,” Russian President Putin told his Turkish counterpart, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan held a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 6 to discuss the ceasefire in Ukraine, the opening of humanitarian corridors, and the signing of a peace agreement.

According to the Kremlin press service, the Russian president told his Turkish counterpart that Russia’s special military operation would only be halted if Ukraine ceased military activities and fulfilled all of Moscow’s demands.

Russian President “Putin informed about the progress of the special military operation on protecting Donbass, conveyed principal approaches and assessments in this context, explained in detail basic set goals and tasks. It was emphasized that the special operation is proceeding according to a plan and is on schedule,” the Kremlin statement said.

During the phone talks, Putin highlighted that the Russian forces “were doing everything possible to preserve the lives and guarantee the security of civilians, precision strikes are targeting exclusively the facilities of military infrastructure.”

Putin also expressed hopes that “during another planned round of talks, Ukraine’s representatives will display a more constructive approach that fully takes into account the current circumstances.”

*^{Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (L) with Russian President Vladimir Putin (R). (Image Credit: AFP)}*

According to the Kremlin statement, Putin told Erdogan that Russia’s “special operation” in Ukraine was going according to plan and highlighted that “the futility of any attempts to drag out the negotiation process, which is being used by the Ukrainian security forces to regroup their forces and resources.”

“Against this background, the actions of nationalist neo-Nazi formations that continue the intensive shelling of Donbass and use civilians, including foreigners, practically taken hostage, as human shields in Ukrainian cities and localities, are particularly cruel and cynical,” the Kremlin statement added.

The Turkish presidency said in a statement that the leaders of Russia and Turkey held one-hour phone call.

According to the statement of the Turkish president’s office, President Erdogan told Putin that “an immediate ceasefire will not only ease humanitarian concerns in the region but also give the search for a political solution an opportunity, renewed his call of ‘let’s pave the way for peace together’.”

During the talks, the Turkish president stressed that his country was ready to contribute to a peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and a ceasefire would ease concerns over the humanitarian situation, the statement added.