Russian Prez Putin urges EU to convince Ukraine to follow international humanitarian law

Amid the ongoing war with Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephonic conversation with European Council Charles Michel on Monday. During the conversation, Putin urged the European Union (EU) to persuade Ukrainian authorities to follow international humanitarian law. He also claimed that Russian forces are making every possible effort to "save lives of civilians in Ukraine," as per the statement released by Kremlin. 

In addition, Putin briefed Michel on the status of peace negotiations with Kyiv officials, reiterating Russian demands. These include demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine, recognition of Russia's sovereignty over Crimea, recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), Ukraine's commitment to a non-nuclear and neutral status, among several others. Last week on Friday, March 4, European Union announced the suspension of cross-border cooperation programmes with Russia and Belarus, RT News reported. 

'Russia will end the war if its demands are met': Kremlin 

As per the Kremlin, Russia will end the demilitarization of Ukraine if the former's conditions are met. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has demanded that the Ukrainian constitution be changed and that Ukraine be denied membership in any bloc, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He stated that Russia has informed Ukraine that it can suspend military operations 'at any time' if Kyiv accepts Russia's demands. The Russian spokesperson's comment comes as the invasion of Ukraine reached its 12th day on Monday. 

Russia-Ukraine war

For weeks, Moscow massed over 150,000 troops on Ukraine's borders in a bid to pressurise Western nations to not allow Ukraine to join NATO, threatening an invasion. Last month on February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a special military operation in Ukraine's Donbas region which subsequently extended across the country. The war between the two countries was declared after Russia recognised the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine and ordered its army to conduct a "peacekeeping operation" in the area. Meanwhile, several countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia and the European Union, have strongly condemned Russia's unjustified military operations in Ukraine and also imposed numerous sanctions on Moscow.  

Image: AP