During telephone conversation with Erdogan, Putin emphasizes his demands for ending invasion of Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which he put forward his demands for a peace agreement with Ukraine, Erdogan’s the chief adviser Ibrahim Kalin told the BBC.
Kalin was present at the conversation between the Putin and Erdogan which was attended by a small group of Turkish officials. According to Erdogan's adviser, Russia's demands can be divided into two categories.
The first category, according to Kalin, is not too difficult for Ukraine. The main demands: Ukraine must accept a neutral status and renounce NATO membership. President Volodymyr Zelensky has already admitted that he is ready to do this.
In this category, there are also conditions aimed at helping the Russian authorities "to save their face”. Ukraine must go through the disarmament process in order "not to pose a threat to Russia." Also, Russia demands that the Russian language be protected in Ukraine.
There is another requirement in the first category – "denazification". The BBC notes that this is a deeply offensive requirement for Zelensky, who is Jewish, and some of his family died during the Holocaust. However, Turkey believes that it will be easy for the Ukrainian president to agree to this, for example, to condemn all forms of neo-Nazism and promise to disallow them.
But with the second category of requirements there will be difficulties. Putin said that to reach these agreements, it is necessary to hold one-on-one talks with Zelensky. Kalin did not give details but noted that these requirements relate to the status of the Donbas and Crimea.
Earlier, Washington said that there are no signs that Putin is ready to end the war in Ukraine.