Shoigu: Putin Had Accepted That Proposal from Turkey, But Kyiv Rejected It

Russia's former Minister of Defense and current Secretary of the Security Council, Sergey Shoigu, has made significant statements.

Stating that Ukraine is trying to force Russia to negotiate on its own terms following its attacks on the Kursk region, Shoigu announced that prior to the Ukrainian Armed Forces' incursion, Russia was prepared to halt attacks on energy facilities in Ukraine at the suggestion of Turkey. However, Ukraine's rejection of this agreement came as a major surprise to Russia.

In an interview with the Rossiya 24 television channel, Shoigu stated that Turkey had presented a proposal to Moscow regarding not attacking energy facilities, nuclear plants, and commercial fleets in the Black Sea, and that Putin had accepted this proposal. However, he said that Kyiv backed out of this agreement shortly thereafter.

RUSSIA SUSPENDED TALKS AFTER KURSK ATTACK

In this context, the Washington Post reported in August that Ukraine and Russia were planning to negotiate a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure with mediation from Qatar. However, Moscow suspended these talks following the attack on the Kursk region. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the existence of these negotiations.

Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia and Ukraine had not reached a clear agreement regarding attacks on energy facilities. Commenting on Sergey Shoigu's remarks that Vladimir Putin was ready to stop attacks on energy facilities in Ukraine, Peskov said, "There was no clear agreement."

According to him, it is now "difficult to imagine that any agreement could be reached" in light of the situation in the Kursk region, where clashes with the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have been ongoing since August 6.

MAJOR DAMAGE TO UKRAINIAN ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE

According to Shoigu, Ukraine's rejection of the agreement led Moscow to resume attacks on energy facilities.

Russia's attacks on August 26 caused major damage to Ukraine's energy infrastructure, and Ukrainian President Zelensky stated that the strikes were among the largest since the beginning of the conflict.

Putin emphasized that he has not completely rejected negotiations with Ukraine, but that Ukraine must first put an end to its "provocative" actions.

News Source: 12punto