Kremlin warns West: Putin will never respond to your ultimatums

Vladimir Putin will not be spoken to in the language of ultimatums, a Russian radio station has quoted the Kremlin as saying. The words came amid speculation that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had issued the Russian president with an ultimatum over the Ukraine conflict. Reports said Germany had given him until Wednesday to agree a peace plan or face new sanctions.

Nobody has ever talked to the president in the tone of an ultimatum - and could not do so even if they wanted to.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov

The leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia are preparing for a summit in the Belarussian capital of Minsk on Wednesday, aiming to end the 10-month conflict in eastern Ukraine, which has killed more than 5,000 people. Putin hosted Merkel and the French leader Francois Hollande for talks in the Kremlin on Friday and the Wall Street Journal had reported that Merkel had given Putin until Wednesday to agree to a Franco-German peace plan. The European Union has suspended new sanctions until then, according to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

The principle of the sanctions will be kept but their implementation will depend on the situation on the ground. We will assess the situation again next Monday.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius

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