Putin tells Erdoğan Ukraine must accept ‘new territorial realities’

Headlines 16:27 05 Jan, 2023
Putin tells Erdoğan Ukraine must accept ‘new territorial realities’

Vladimir Putin told his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that Russia was open to dialogue over Ukraine but that Kyiv would have to accept the “new territorial realities”, according to a readout of the call by the Kremlin, Qazet.az reports.

In a statement, it said:

Vladimir Putin reaffirmed Russia’s openness to a serious dialogue, provided that the [Kyiv] authorities fulfil the well-known and repeatedly voiced requirements and take into account the new territorial realities.

Russia’s president annexed Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in September after Kremlin-orchestrated fake referendums in the regions.

The Kremlin has previously insisted that any proposals to end the conflict in Ukraine must take into account what it calls “today’s realities” of those four Ukrainian regions having joined Russia. Russia does not fully control any of the four regions.

Putin also “acknowledged the destructive role of the West, pumping weapons into Kyiv, providing information and guidance,” the Kremlin said.