"Asked about the Reuters report at a news conference in Belarus on Friday, Putin said peace talks should restart.

"Let them resume," he said, adding that negotiations should be based on "the realities on the ground" and on a plan agreed during a previous attempt to reach a deal in the first weeks of the war. "Not on the basis of what one side wants," he said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on X that the Russian leader was trying to derail a Ukrainian-initiated peace summit in Switzerland next month by using his entourage to send out "phony signals" about his alleged readiness to halt the war.

"Putin currently has no desire to end his aggression against Ukraine. Only the principled and united voice of the global majority can force him to choose peace over war," said Kuleba.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, said Putin wanted Western democracies to accept defeat."

"Based on their knowledge of conversations in the upper ranks of the Kremlin, two of the sources said Putin was of the view that gains in the war so far were enough to sell a victory to the Russian people.

Europe's biggest ground conflict since World War Two has cost tens of thousands of lives on both sides and led to sweeping Western sanctions on Russia's economy.

Three sources said Putin understood any dramatic new advances would require another nationwide mobilisation, which he didn't want, with one source, who knows the Russian president, saying his popularity dipped after the first mobilisation in September 2022.

The national call up spooked part of the population in Russia, triggering hundreds of thousands of draft age men to leave the country. Polls showed Putin's popularity falling by several points."

"SWISS TALKS
The Swiss peace summit in June is aimed at unifying international opinion on how to end the war. The talks were convened at the initiative of Zelenskiy who has said Putin should not attend. Switzerland has not invited Russia.

Moscow has said the talks are not credible without it being there. Ukraine and Switzerland want Russian allies including China to attend.

Speaking in China on May 17, Putin said Ukraine may use the Swiss talks to get a broader group of countries to back Zelenskiy's demand for a total Russian withdrawal, which Putin said would be an imposed condition rather than a serious peace negotiation.

The Swiss foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In response to questions for this story, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said any initiative for peace must respect Ukraine's "territorial integrity, within its internationally recognised borders" and described Russia as the sole obstacle to peace in Ukraine.

"The Kremlin has yet to demonstrate any meaningful interest in ending its war, quite the opposite," the spokesperson said."

'
SO it does look like this is an effort to avoid Swiss Talks, where stopping the war at current battle fronts would likely be off the table... as they should be.

Because rewarding aggression is just asking for more aggression.

"Let's talk about Putin's promise of peace in Ukraine....

Beau of the Fifth Column

NEW

"Amid reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin was considering a new ceasefire deal with Ukraine, Moscow's envoy to the United States has outlined to Newsweek where the Kremlin stands on the prospects of bringing an end to Europe's deadliest war in decades."

"At a time when the Russian military has made key gains toward Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv, breaking a yearlong stalemate, Antonov stated that "there can be no talk of any "freezing' of the conflict" and the Russian leader "did not say anything like this."

"Let me emphasize that any Russian-Ukrainian agreements must take into account the situation 'on the ground,'" he said.

"Retreat or withdrawal of the Russian Federation Armed Forces to hypothetical dividing lines is excluded. Let us remind you: there is a Constitution of Russia. The borders of our state, which include new federal subjects, are clearly marked there."

#8

---- figured him out long ago.

10

Like all your other posts, a claim, not an argument.

Flew in from Miami Beach BOAC
Didn't get to bed last night
On the way the paper bag was on my knee
Man, I had a dreadful flight

I'm back in the USSR
You don't know how lucky you are, boy
Back in the USSR, yeah

Been away so long I early knew the place
Gee, it's good to be back home
Leave it till tomorrow to unpack my case
Honey disconnect the phone

I'm back in the USSR
You don't know how lucky you are, boy
Back in the US
Back in the US
Back in the USSR

Well the Ukraine girls really knock me out
They leave the west behind
And Moscow girls make me sing and shout
That Georgia's always on my my my my my my my my my mind

Oh, come on
Hu hey hu, hey, ah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm back in the USSR
You don't know how lucky you are, boys
Back in the USSR

Well the Ukraine girls really knock me out
They leave the west behind
And Moscow girls make me sing and shout
That Georgia's always on my my my my my my my my my mind

Oh, show me round your snow peaked
Mountain way down south
Take me to your daddy's farm
Let me hear your balalaika's ringing out
Come and keep your comrade warm

I'm back in the USSR
Hey, you don't know how lucky you are, boy
Back in the USSR
Oh, let me tell you, honey

Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul McCartney