Russian President Vladimir Putin is in no position to make demands on Ukraine to end the war, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Friday, APA reports citing Reuters.
Putin said earlier on Friday that Russia would end the war in Ukraine only if Kyiv agreed to drop its NATO ambitions, hand over the entirety of four provinces claimed by Moscow, and carry out a demilitarization.
"He is not in any position to dictate to Ukraine what they must do to bring about peace," Austin told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Ukraine says peace can only be based on the full withdrawal of Russian forces and the restoration of its territorial integrity.
"He's had some hundreds of thousands of troops wounded and killed in this unjust and unprovoked invasion. He could end this today if he if he chose to do that. And we call upon him to do that and to leave Ukrainian sovereign territory," Austin said.
In his address, Putin said "the future existence of Ukraine" depended on it withdrawing its forces, on it adopting a neutral status, and on beginning talks with Russia, and said Kyiv's military situation would worsen if it rejected the offer.
NATO's official line is that Ukraine will join the alliance one day, but not while the country is at war. "Ukraine's future is in NATO," NATO leaders declared at last year's Vilnius summit.
Some allies want this language to be strengthened, suggesting the summit declare that Ukraine's path to membership is "irreversible", according to diplomats.
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