Russia will fight on unless Ukraine cedes land: Putin

BISHKEK, Nov 28 (AFP): Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he would end his Ukraine offensive if Kyiv withdrew from territory Moscow claims at its own-otherwise his army would take it by force.
The Russian army has been slowly but steadily grinding through eastern Ukraine in costly battles against outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces.
Washington has meanwhile renewed its push to end the nearly four-year war, putting forward a surprise plan that it hopes to finalise through upcoming talks with Moscow and Kyiv.
"If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations," Putin said during a visit to Kyrgyzstan. "If they don't, then we will achieve it by military means."
Russia controls around one-fifth of Ukraine's territory. The issue of occupied land, which Kyiv has said it will never cede, is among the biggest stumbling blocks in the peace process.
Another important issue in the talks are Western security guarantees for Ukraine, which Kyiv says are needed to prevent Moscow from invading again in the future.
Washington's original plan-drafted without input from Ukraine's European allies-would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognise the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian.
The US pared back the original plan over the weekend following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but has not yet released the new version.
Putin, who has seen the new plan, said it could be a negotiation starter.
"Overall, we agree that it could form the basis for future agreements," he said of the latest draft, which the United States is thought to have shortened to about 20 points. But Russia was still seeking international recognition of the occupied territories, Putin added.
NATO chief hails Trump efforts
to end fighting in Ukraine
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday praised US President Donald Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine, the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.
"There is tremendous renewed energy around the peace process, and for that I want to commend US President Trump," Rutte told reporters during a visit to Iceland where he met with Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir.
A US-proposed ceasefire has breathed new life into negotiations, with officials from Russia, Ukraine, Washington and Europe ironing out conditions in talks spanning from Geneva to Abu Dhabi.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will discuss all aspects of their countries' "privileged strategic partnership" when Putin visits New Delhi next week, the Kremlin said.
India, a major buyer of Russian oil, has also bought its weapons for decades, though a top defence official said the country had bought US arms worth nearly $30 billion in the past decade and aims to produce more of its own equipment.
"They (the Russians) have been our friends through both fair and foul weather, and we are not going to sort of stop our defence cooperation with them anytime soon, but I do want to stress that India follows a policy of strategic autonomy," Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said in New Delhi on Friday.
India was diversifying its suppliers, he told an industry event, adding: "But more than anything else we are trying to ensure that we increasingly do spend the bulk of our money within the country."
Putin last visited India in December 2021, just a few months before Russia went to war in Ukraine the following February.
During his state visit from December 4 to 5, Putin will hold talks with Modi and have a separate meeting with President Droupadi Murmu, the Kremlin said, saying a number of unspecified intergovernmental and commercial documents would be signed.
"This visit is of great importance, providing an opportunity to comprehensively discuss the extensive agenda of Russian-Indian relations as a particularly privileged strategic partnership," the Kremlin said in a statement.