Latest on the war in Ukraine
Moscow rules out withdrawing its troops from Ukraine before the end of the year
MADRID, Dec. 13 (.) –
The Kremlin has affirmed this Tuesday that the proposal formulated by the president of Ukraine, Volodomir Zelensky, to reach a peace agreement is actually a step “to continue the hostilities”, while denying the possibility of a withdrawal of Russian troops. of Ukrainian territory before the end of the year.
“These are three steps towards the continuation of hostilities,” said the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dimitri Peskov, referring to the so-called “three-step” plan for peace, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.
Likewise, he has stressed that a possible military withdrawal from Ukraine “is not feasible” and has argued that “Ukraine has to accept the realities that have emerged during this time.” “There are realities that have taken place due to the policy pursued for the last 15 to 20 years by the Ukrainian leadership and the current Ukrainian regime,” he said.
“These realities indicate that Russia has new members that appeared as a result of referendums in those territories. Without taking these realities into account it is impossible to achieve progress,” he argued, referring to Moscow’s decision to annex the Donetsk regions of Ukraine in September. , Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, partially occupied as part of the invasion.
Zelensky said on Monday that his proposal includes the delivery of more weapons by his partners to “shorten Russian aggression”, as well as achieving financial and social stability for Ukraine in 2023 and a “new diplomacy” leading to a process of negotiations to “stop Russian aggression”.
“Ukraine has always led the negotiation process and has done everything possible to stop the Russian aggression. Now we feel that an opportunity to use diplomacy to achieve the liberation of all our peoples and all our territories is closer,” he said, according to a statement from the Ukrainian Presidency.
For this reason, the president proposed holding a “special summit” to “determine how and when the points of the Ukrainian Peace Formula can be applied” and asked the G7 leaders to “show leadership in the application of the peace formula in their totality or in some specific points in particular”.
