Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani openly criticized Russia's proposal to end the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, framing it not as a peace proposal but as a demand for surrender. Tajani spoke before the Italian Parliament and stated that such a proposal is far from acceptable and promised to continue efforts to achieve real peace, reports News.bg.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a plan aimed at resolving the conflict with Ukraine. During a speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry, he declared his readiness for negotiations, but only with the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the four regions to which Russia has territorial claims - the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson.
In addition, Putin has been pushing for Ukraine to abandon its aspirations to join NATO, coupled with calls for demilitarization of Ukraine and lifting of Western sanctions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sharply compared Putin's terms to Adolf Hitler's policies, underscoring the unacceptable nature of the proposal. Similarly, the United States and Germany rejected the plan, with the US saying Putin was in no position to dictate the terms of peace and Germany dismissing the proposal as frivolous.
Despite its claims, Russia has only partial control over the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, with its 2014 annexation of Crimea widely condemned as illegal by the international community.
The proposed peace plan looks more like an ultimatum than a step towards resolving the conflict, casting doubt on the prospects for peace in the near future.