Russia is open to discussing a ceasefire in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
A spokesman for Peskov said in a telephone conference call that discussions of a truce for a “special military operation” in Ukraine could be included on the agenda of the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Moscow on the same day.
When asked about a viable ceasefire plan, spokesman Peskov replied, “If President Lukashenko explains the issue, of course it can be discussed.”
In his State of the Union address on the 31st of last month, President Lukashenko urged Russia and Ukraine to ban the movement of troops and equipment and declare an immediate ceasefire.
However, Lukashenko added that Russia would allow the deployment of strategic nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) as well as tactical nuclear weapons in order to prevent threats to its national security.
Major Eastern European media observe that President Putin and President Lukashenko are highly likely to discuss nuclear weapons transfer at a meeting on the 5th.
Russian President Putin announced on the 25th of last month that he would deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.
■ Notice of retaliation against Finland
Meanwhile, spokesperson Peskov stressed at a conference on the same day (5th) that Finland would take all necessary countermeasures against Finland’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
“Finland’s accession to NATO does not promote European security, it poses a threat to Russia,” Peskov said.
“Russia needs additional security measures to rebalance its security regime,” he said.
However, no specific method or plan was presented.
“Everything to ensure security will be done,” he added.
Finland officially obtained NATO’s 31st member status the day before (4th).
■ Reaffirmation of Turkey’s ‘opposition to Sweden’s NATO membership’
In the midst of this, Turkiye reaffirmed its opposition to Sweden’s NATO membership on the 5th.
“Further action is needed,” said Foreign Minister Mevlut Ceaucholu Turkiye in Brussels, Belgium, in response to a reporter’s question about whether Sweden would be able to join NATO after Finland.
Minister Chowshowlu slammed Sweden, comparing it to Nazi Germany.
Turkiye officials mention ‘Nazi’ because Sweden is not keeping promises such as extradition of those related to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Turkey has designated as a terrorist organization.
The Turkiye government also demands that the Kurds be punished for being responsible for the 2016 Turkiye coup, but Sweden sees them as being lenient.
According to this, the Turkiye government is criticizing Sweden as a ‘terrorist country’.
More recently, the Turkish government has been further outraged by an incident in which anti-Muslim protesters burned a copy of the Islamic scripture, the Quran, in front of the Turkish embassy in Sweden.
Turkey’s Parliament was the last of NATO’s existing 30 member states to ratify Finland’s motion to join NATO on the 30th of last month.
However, we do not agree with Sweden’s application for NATO membership along with Finland.
■ Hungarian attitude is also key
Besides Turkiye, Hungary also has not agreed to Sweden’s accession to NATO.
Since joining NATO requires the consent of all existing member states, Sweden will not be able to join if Turkey and Hungary continue to oppose it.
In Hungary, some Swedish politicians have recently expressed their displeasure with critics of the country’s rule of law and democracy in decline.
Sweden has recently completed some amendments to its constitution to strengthen anti-terrorism laws in relation to this situation.
The Swedish government expects to finalize the accession process before the NATO summit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, in July.
This is VOA News Jongsu Oh.
