On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hinted that Moscow’s nearly four-year conflict against Ukraine may be coming to a close. Additionally, he expressed willingness to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a neutral country to complete the details of a permanent peace agreement.
Putin’s comments came following a subdued Victory Day parade in Moscow, where he told reporters that “this is coming to a close,” and were made on the heels of an agreement between both sides for a three-day cease-fire and an exchange of 1,000 prisoners, which has raised hopes of further diplomatic progress.
In the reduced-sized parade, which included North Korean soldiers and only utilized videos of heavy military equipment rather than actually having any heavy military equipment at the parade, Putin continued to blame Western “globalist elites” for violating their commitments made to Russia during the post Cold War era regarding NATO. He stated that Russians were fighting a “just cause” against aggression supported by NATO.
Putin demanded that any summit between Zelenskyy and him take place only after the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement. “It’s possible to meet in a third country, but only after the peace agreement is signed,” he said. “This is the final agreement. Not just negotiations.”
President Trump announced that he had brokered a temporary ceasefire and released prisoners following the announcement. There has been progress made towards finding a resolution to the ongoing war, which has resulted in well over 100,000 people being killed, with large areas of Ukraine destroyed due to the war, and the Russian economy deeply harmed due to Russia controlling just over 20% of Ukraine and a very slow rate of progress being made by the Russian military.
Analysts view Putin’s comments as potentially having significance, although both European and Kyiv officials are skeptical, given how long the war has been going on. European leaders have expressed their willingness to participate in broader security discussions.