There is no peace agreement without recognition of the annexation of Ukrainian regions, says Peskov
The Kremlin claims that any peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine will have to accept the "new reality", according to which four Ukrainian regions have been annexed by Russia.
- No peace plan for Ukraine can exist if the annexation of four new regions in the Russian Federation is not taken into account. This was stated by the press secretary of the head of the Russian state, Dmitry Peskov, to the journalists today.
- So far there is no "peace plan" for Ukraine, let's start with this, said the Kremlin spokesman in response to a request to comment on the initiative of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to prepare a "peace plan" by February, when he would like to hold a peace summit , with the mediation of the UN.
On September 30, Russia officially annexed Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, although fighting in these regions continued. The annexation followed a referendum that Ukraine and Western countries described as a "fraud" and completely illegal. Reports suggest that residents of those regions were forced to vote and could not leave the areas until the referendum was completed.
Russia does not fully control any of the four regions. Parts of Kherson, including the city of Kherson and areas around the Dnieper River, were returned to Ukrainian control in November following Russia's withdrawal.