President Putin Calls If Not Neutral, Ukraine Will Continue To Be Used As A Tool

President Putin in the Valdai International Discussion Club routine meeting. (Source: Kristina Kormilitsyna/Rossiya Segodnya via Kremlin)

JAKARTA - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Ukraine must remain neutral in order to create a peace opportunity, adding that the Ukrainian border must be in accordance with the wishes of the people living in the territory Russia claims.

"If there is no confusion, it is difficult to imagine a good neighboring relationship between Russia and Ukraine," President Putin said.

President Putin further said Russia had acknowledged the post-Soviet Ukraine border based on Russia's understanding would be neutral.

Meanwhile, the US-led NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) military alliance has repeatedly said Ukraine will one day join.

If Ukraine is not neutral, Ukraine will "continue to be used as a tool in the wrong hands and harm the interests of the Russian Federation," President Putin said.

Russia controls about a fifth of Ukraine's territory after more than two and a half years of war.

On June 14, President Putin set his terms to end the conflict: Ukraine must stop its NATO ambitions and withdraw all its troops from all areas claimed by Russia.

Ukraine rejects these requirements because it is considered tantamount to surrendering and President Volodymyr Zelensky has submitted a " winning plan" that has asked for additional support from the West.

"We are determined to create conditions for long-term settlements so that Ukraine becomes an independent and sovereign country, and not an instrument in the hands of a third country, and is not used for their benefit," President Putin said.

When asked about Ukraine's future territorial boundaries, President Putin said: "Ukraine's borders must be in accordance with the sovereignty decisions of people living in certain areas and what we call our historical territory."

Ukraine said it would not rest until every last Russian soldier was expelled from its territory, although US generals said such a goal would require huge resources that Ukraine currently does not have.