According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, there is no change in Putin’s plans and goals in Ukraine. And US President Joe Biden believes that the head of the Kremlin thus wants to gain himself a “breathing space”.
US President Joe Biden was skeptical of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s statements about the ceasefire on Orthodox Christmas. According to him, he does not want to answer everything Putin says. It is reported by CNN.
“I don’t feel like commenting on any of Putin’s statements. Interestingly, he was ready to bombard hospitals, kindergartens and churches on the 25th and in the new year,” Biden said.
“I think he needs some breathing room,” the White House chief added.
NATO response
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Moscow does not see a change in its position on Ukraine. He insists the Kremlin needs “a piece of Europe where it will be possible to control a neighboring country”.
“There is nothing to indicate that there has been a change in President Putin’s plans and goals in Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said in Oslo, Norway, after Putin announced the “Christmas truce”. said.
Erdogan offered mediation
Putin’s announcement of the Christmas ceasefire came after a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urging the Russian president to declare a unilateral ceasefire.
On Thursday, January 5, the Turkish leader called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after his morning phone call with Putin and said that Turkey is ready to act as a mediator in the negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow to reach a long-term peace.
The transcript, available on the website of the Turkish Presidency’s office, also reported the offer of diplomatic support to Ukraine regarding the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
Turkey mediated the grain agreement between the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the UN.
German response
In response, German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock said that if Putin really wanted peace, “he would send his troops home.”
“The so-called ceasefire brings neither freedom nor security to the people living under Russian occupation every day,” he said. registered head of the diplomatic department.
Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the chairman of the Ukrainian People’s Assembly, called the Kremlin’s statement “hypocritical”. According to him, a “temporary agreement” will only be possible if Russia leaves the occupied territories in Ukraine.
“Keep the hypocrisy to yourself,” the counselor wrote on Twitter.
Recall that the Kremlin responded to widespread rumors about Putin’s trip to Donetsk during the “Christmas truce”. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declared a ceasefire along the entire front line from noon on January 6 to midnight on January 7.
Previously Focus He stated that they could take urgent measures due to mobilization in the Russian Federation. Due to significant manpower losses in Ukraine, the aggressor country is planning another massive mobilization wave.
Source: Focus
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