The proposal outlines a number of potential measures that may be taken to calm the crisis, one of which involves the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, has stated that an offer that was submitted by leaders from African nations may serve as a foundation for peace in Moscow’s fight against Ukraine. However, Putin asserted that strikes from Kyiv made it nearly difficult for there to be a suspension of hostilities.
After meeting with African leaders in Saint Petersburg and hearing their requests for Russia to press ahead with their schedule, the leader of Russia made the statements on Saturday in Moscow. He had just returned from Saint Petersburg.
According to the news organization Reuters, the suggestion floats the possibility of a series of steps that could be taken to defuse the conflict. These steps include a pullback of Russian troops, the expulsion of the Russian tactical atomic bomb from Belarus, the suspension of a warrant for his arrest against Putin issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), and penalties relief.
There has been no public discussion over the proposal’s specifics.
There are some things that are almost impossible to carry out, such as a ceasefire; nonetheless, Ukraine is making progress; they are engaged in a strategic offensive; how can we hold our fire while they are making progress on us? Putin stated this to the press.
This must be an initiative between the two countries. However, the [African] proposal has the potential to become the cornerstone of various procedures leading to a peaceful conclusion, just like the initiative that China has proposed, so there is neither competition nor conflict between the two, as he explained.
The Chinese plan is a 12-point policy document that was made public earlier this year. It advocates for a de-escalation of the situation in Ukraine as well as an eventual ceasefire.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has stated that he does not support the implementation of a ceasefire at this time. If this were to take place, Russia would retain control of roughly a fifth of Ukraine, and Russia’s armed forces would have time to reorganize after 17 arduous months of fighting.
He has also stated that negotiations for peace would demand Moscow remove its military from seized Ukrainian land, which is something that Russia has stated is not negotiable and is therefore incompatible with peace discussions.
Putin made the following statement in response to a question on peace talks: “We weren’t against them. We simply believe that in fact for the negotiation process to start, there has to be consensus on both sides.”
In addition, the Russian president seemed to minimize the significance of the fact that he will not be attending an economic meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, the following month, despite the controversy surrounding an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes related to the kidnapping of kids from Ukraine.
When asked about his explanations for not coming, Putin told Russian reporters that he was in communication with all of his coworkers from the group of emerging economies known as BRICS. He also stated that he did not believe that his participation at the BRICS meeting was more necessary than being present here, in Russia, at this very moment.
In addition, he stated that he would participate in the gathering through a video link, while Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov would fly to attend the event in person. The summit, which will take place from August 22-24, will bring together political leaders from China, Russia, Brazil, India, and South Africa.
Since South Africa is a party to the Rome convention that established the International Criminal Court (ICC), it is bound to place Russian President Vladimir Putin under arrest if he steps feet on South African soil.
Although South Africa had made it clear that it would make no attempt to detain Vladimir Putin if he visited the summit, the country also made it clear that it wanted him to stay away in order to prevent any potential complications.
Despite the fact that Moscow rejected the summons, Putin has not visited any of the countries that have ratified the International Criminal Court treaty since he was indicted. According to the findings of several analysts, the public discussion on whether or not the Russian leader was going to fly to South Africa was an unwanted move for the Kremlin in and of itself.
