Putin demands that they demilitarize Ukraine and recognize Crimea to stop attacks

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday demanded from his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory and the demilitarization of Ukraine as conditions to end the war in that country.

Putin asked “the recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea and the demilitarization and ‘denazification’ of the Ukrainian state and the promise of its neutral status” as preliminary conditions to a resolution of the conflict, the Kremlin said in a statement after a telephone conversation between the two leaders.

The Russian president stressed that the resolution of the conflict “was possible only if the legitimate security interests of Russia were taken into account without condition,” according to the Kremlin.

“The Russian side is open to negotiations with representatives of Ukraine and hopes that they will lead to the expected results,” the Russian presidency assured.

Macron and Putin were referring to the negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow that took place on Monday in Belarus.

Before they began, the Kremlin had said it did not want to “announce” its position and Ukraine called for an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces.

The negotiations took place as the Russian offensive, launched on February 24, faces resistance from the Ukrainian army. The Russian economy is also suffering from a barrage of sanctions as a result of the invasion.