U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not in a position to dictate to Ukraine what it should do to achieve peace.
This statement comes after Putin claimed that Russia would be ready for peace talks “tomorrow” if Ukraine accepted his demands.
It is reported that his demands include the immediate withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions, according to Sky News.
Additionally, the Russian president wants Ukraine to abandon its plans to join NATO.
Austin argued that Putin could end the war today if he wanted to and called on the Russian president to withdraw his troops from Ukrainian territory.
“He is in no position to tell Ukraine what it should do to bring about peace,” Austin said at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
