Putin wants legal recognition of ‘Russian affiliation of Crimea and Donbas’, recognition of decisions on Ukraine by ‘major intl players’
Russia wants to reach an agreement with Ukraine, but this is currently legally impossible, Vladimir Putin stated.
"Of course, we ultimately want to reach an agreement with Ukraine. But right now, it's simply practically impossible, legally impossible," Putin said at a press conference following his visit to Kyrgyzstan, according to Russian media.
"Let those who can and want to negotiate with us. We need our decisions to be recognized by the main international players. This matters," Putin said.
He noted that recognition by international players is crucial. "It's one thing when decisions are recognized. Certain territories are under Russian sovereignty. Violating these agreements would be an attack on the Russian Federation, with all the ensuing retaliatory measures from Russia. Or (otherwise) it would be perceived as an attempt to reclaim territories that rightfully belong to Ukraine. Of course, we need recognition," Putin said.
He also said that legal recognition of the "Russian ownership of Crimea and Donbas" should be one of the key issues in the upcoming negotiations with the American side.
"This should be the subject of our negotiations with the American side," he said.
Thus, Putin answered the question of how he feels about the American side being ready to recognize Crimea and Donbas as Russian de facto, but not de jure.
He also believes that the fighting in Ukraine will end when the Ukrainian Armed Forces withdraw from the territories they occupy in Donbas. "Ukrainian troops will withdraw from the territories they occupy, and then the fighting will cease. If they don't withdraw, we will achieve this by force of arms," Putin said.
He also admitted the possibility that conditions might arise for contacts between Russia and the G7 countries if the peace plan for Ukraine is implemented, but he considers talk of this to be premature.
"Perhaps, if we implement all the proposals we received within the list given to us by the American administration, perhaps some conditions for bilateral or multilateral contacts will emerge, but it is too early to talk about this," Putin said.
