"Putin always plays his cards close to his chest" — Pistorius
During his visit to Kyiv, German Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius described recent statements by Russian officials regarding their readiness for negotiations as manipulation and an attempt to deceive.
This was reported by Ukrinform.
According to him, the aggressor is trying to pass off wishful thinking as reality, while the Russian army continues to terrorize the civilian population and violate its own promises.
At a joint press conference with Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, the German official noted that Vladimir Putin has all the tools to immediately end hostilities.
Instead, the Kremlin continues to issue unacceptable ultimatums, which indicates a lack of genuine desire to achieve peace.
“Vladimir Putin is now saying again that the war in Ukraine is supposedly nearing an end. A discerning observer immediately asks: if he sees the end of the war approaching, he could simply end it. Then he himself would hold that moment in his own hands,” said Boris Pistorius.
The minister emphasized that Russia is once again using the “smoke-and-mirrors” tactic, ignoring previous agreements.
An example of such behavior was the violation of the three-day ceasefire announced by the occupiers last weekend, which ultimately failed to bring calm to the front lines.
“Every time there were talks about a ceasefire or peace, he ultimately played his cards close to his chest or behaved completely differently from what had been agreed upon or stated during the negotiations,” said the German Defense Minister.
According to Pistorius, the shift in the Kremlin’s rhetoric is due to significant military difficulties faced by Russia and a lack of territorial gains.
He is convinced that the Russian dictator is trying to mask the weakness of his army, which is gradually losing control over previously captured regions.
The German minister emphasized that the only path to true peace is the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.
He considers any calls for dialogue from Moscow without preconditions to be an element of hybrid aggression aimed at buying time.
At the May 9 parade, Putin called Ukraine “aggressive” and complained about NATO
The Kremlin announced Putin’s readiness to meet with Zelenskyy in Moscow
