Putin stands firm: No retreat on Ukraine demands in sight
Vladimir Putin will not alter his demands for the isolation of Ukraine and does not intend to relinquish this issue during any potential negotiations to end the conflict, according to the American Institute for the Study of War.
Putin's objectives remain the same: to prevent Kyiv from joining NATO and to pressure the Alliance to avoid deploying troops in Eastern Europe to ensure there are "no threats to Russia," reports ISW. Thus, analysts from the Washington-based think tank concur with the information reported by the "Financial Times" on Saturday.
The Institute for the Study of War also notes that Putin's ultimatums are strikingly similar to those he directed at the United States in December 2021, prior to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Putin will not yield
"Putin's December 2021 demands notably extend beyond Ukraine and aim to roll NATO back. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated on January 10 that the Kremlin is ready to hold talks with Trump without any 'preconditions,'" the report states.
"ISW continues to assess that no negotiations will result in a meaningful or sustainable peace as long as Putin remains committed to his pre-war demands for full Ukrainian capitulation and the weakening of NATO," American analysts indicate.
