Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would never declare a ceasefire in Ukraine without Kiev meeting the preconditions.
Ukraine could use a ceasefire to arm itself for further attacks, which is why a sustainable solution to the conflict must be negotiated first, Putin said.
He pointed to previous agreements on the conflict in Ukraine, from times before the full-scale Russian invasion, that ended up “in the trash can.”
He was referring to the frozen conflict after Moscow illegally annexed Crimea and the presence of Moscow-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine.
“That’s why we can’t just declare a ceasefire now in the hope that the other side will take some positive steps,” Putin said at the end of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a security forum.
“We cannot allow the enemy to use this ceasefire to improve its situation, arm itself, renew its army with the help of forced mobilization and be ready to continue the armed conflict,” Putin said at the event held in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana.
Russia has made several proposals to resolve the conflict, Putin added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected proposals for a ceasefire, most recently suggested by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is widely seen as having warm relations with Putin.
Ukraine is not prepared to negotiate under the current circumstances and demands Russia’s complete withdrawal from all occupied territories, including Crimea, as a prerequisite for peace, Zelensky said.
The Kremlin also rejected an offer from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to mediate between Moscow and Kiev, proposed in Astana.
