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In a conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly outlined the conditions that must be met for him to end his invasion of Ukraine.
According to a BBC report, a Turkish official who listened in on the two leaders’ conversation said Putin would end his invasion if several conditions were met, including a promise that Ukraine would remain neutral and not join NATO.
Firefighters evacuate an elderly woman from a shell-damaged apartment building in Kyiv, Ukraine (ESV via AP)
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Erdogan’s top adviser and spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, says Russia is also urging Ukraine to go through a disarmament process to mitigate Russian threats in the future, as well as ensure legal protection for the Russian language in Ukraine.
In addition, Putin is reportedly willing to make promises related to the “denazification” of Ukraine.
Putin, according to the report, is also asking for face-to-face talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to work out his demands, which Zelensky had previously said he had no objection to.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to flight attendants in a commentary broadcast on state television on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Video by Reuters)
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Kalin said there were other terms Putin listed that he did not elaborate on, but he thought they would apply to breakaway territories in eastern Donbas from Ukraine.
The report says it is “suggested” that Putin will ask Ukraine to give up territory in the east and formally recognize that Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, is part of Russia.
The demands are in line with previous reports that said Putin told Ukrainian officials he would end his invasion if six basic conditions were met.
In this photo provided by the Press Office of the President of Ukraine, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the nation in Kyiv, Ukraine ((Press Office of the President of Ukraine via AP))
News of Putin’s readiness to negotiate an end to the war comes as his invasion enters its fourth week, and there are reports that the morale of some Russian troops is starting to dwindle.
The US Department of Defense notes that Russian troops are slowing down their advance, and also note individual cases of a drop in morale among the troops.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on the overall morale of the Russian forces, but acknowledged some “anecdotal indications” that the morale of “some units is low.”
“Part of this, we believe, is due to poor leadership, the lack of information that the troops receive about their mission and goals, and, I think, frustration with such fierce resistance that they had,” Kirby explained. “But, again, I want to emphasize that these are anecdotal reports.”
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“While we are confident in what we are getting, we will not apply this to all the forces that Russia has introduced into Ukraine,” he added.
Reports over the past week have indicated a significant slowdown in the Russian advance, which may be contributing to anecdotal low morale: Officials have not seen Russia move its artillery “closer” to Kiev, but all signs point to forces intent on pushing. The siege of the Ukrainian capital.
Peter Aitken of Fox News contributed to this report.