Russian President Vladimir Putin is in no position to make demands on Ukraine to end the war, said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, according to Reuters.
On 14 June, Putin said Russia would end the war in Ukraine only if Kyiv backed down its NATO aspirations and withdrew its forces from occupied territories.
“He is not in any position to dictate to Ukraine what they must do to bring about peace,” claimed Austin at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Meanwhile, Ukraine says peace can only be based on the full withdrawal of Russian forces and the restoration of its territorial integrity. On 15-16 June, Kyiv will hold the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland to establish a common strategy with nearly 100 countries on ending Russia’s war.
Putin’s speech, which contained threats of worsening the defense situation for Ukraine, was clearly intended to preempt the event.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a ten-year bilateral security agreement to bolster Ukraine’s defense against Russian invaders.
The agreement, which is meant to be a step towards Ukraine’s eventual NATO membership, was signed on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy.
With a new agreement, the US intends to provide long-term training and advising, intelligence, security, defense industrial, and institutional support to Ukraine.
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