Putin offers peace if Ukraine relinquishes Russian-occupied territory

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday promised to order a cease-fire in Ukraine if Kyiv agreed to withdraw troops from four provinces Moscow annexed in 2022, according to Russian state media. His offer would also require Ukraine to renounce its plans to join NATO and for Western nations to eventually lift sanctions on Russia. Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak rejected the proposal, calling it offensive.

Why is the timing of Putin’s comments significant? World leaders from about 90 countries are set to gather in Switzerland this weekend for a summit to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine. Russia was not invited to the conference and China has refused to send a delegation.

Putin’s proposal also comes on the heels of a Group of Seven summit where diplomats approved a plan to loan Ukraine $50 billion that would be backed by frozen Russian assets. The United States and Ukraine this week also signed a 10-year security agreement.

What else has Ukraine said about the proposal? The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday called Putin’s plan manipulative and claimed that his statements were intended to deter world leaders from participating in the summit in Switzerland. Ukraine has demanded that Russia remove its troops from all of its territory, including the Crimean Peninsula, as part of any cease-fire negotiations.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report in The Sift about Blinken confirming that Ukraine could use U.S. weapons against targets in Russia.