Г President Vladimir Putin demands full control over the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions before signing a peace agreement with Ukraine. Bloomberg reports this, citing three sources in Moscow.
According to reports, US Special Representative Steve Whitkoff, during a meeting with Putin on April 25th, attempted to persuade Russia to cease fire and freeze the war along the current front lines. However, Putin remained firm in his maximalistic territorial demands.
One of Bloomberg's interlocutors said that the negotiations have so far reached a deadlock. According to him, progress in the process is possible only if there is a face-to-face meeting between Putin and former US President Donald Trump.
According to the publication, Putin's persistence in his position is dealing a serious blow to former President Donald Trump's efforts to cease fire and end the war. At the same time, Washington is expressing its dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in the negotiations. US officials do not rule out the possibility of withdrawing from negotiations if an agreement is not reached in the near future.
