MURMANSK: President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russian forces have the “strategic initiative“ along the Ukraine frontline and could “finish them off”, and suggested a future “transitional administration” for the country under the auspices of the United Nations.
Russia is currently in direct talks with the United States, which is brokering a ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv after more than three years of fighting, while European countries have met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree on a coordinated policy.
Speaking Friday in the northwestern city of Murmansk, Putin said “along the entire frontline, our forces have the strategic initiative“.
“There are reasons to believe that we will finish them off,“ he said, adding that “the Ukrainian people themselves should understand what is happening”.
He also raised the idea of a “transitional administration” for Ukraine.
“We could, of course, discuss with the United States, even with European countries, and of course with our partners and friends, under the auspices of the UN, the possibility of establishing a transitional administration in Ukraine,“ Putin said.
“What for? To organise a democratic presidential election that would result in the coming to power of a competent government that would have the confidence of the people, and then begin negotiations with these authorities on a peace agreement and sign legitimate documents,“ he said.
The Russian leader added that the idea of a transitional administration “has already been used several times” under the United Nations’ framework, recalling in particular the case of East Timor in 1999.
His statements came after Ukraine's European allies met in Paris on Thursday with Zelensky.
French President Emmanuel Macron said after the summit that France and Britain were putting forth plans for a “reassurance force“ in Ukraine after there is an end to the fighting.
He emphasised that members of such a force would not be peacekeepers, deployed on the frontline or any kind of substitute for the Ukrainian army.
