 Putin says Russia withdrew army from Kyiv because it was asked. At a meeting with African leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia withdrew its army from Kyiv last year because it was asked to do so to create conditions for signing a peace treaty. Essentially, a draft of peace agreement was agreed upon, but after the withdrawal of our troops from near Kyiv, which we were asked to do to create conditions for the conclusion of the final agreement, the Kyiv authorities rejected all previous agreements. Putin said. The SOTA telegram channel pointed out that the fragment with Putin's statements about the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kyiv had disappeared from the Kremlin's telegram channel, although it was originally present in the video, and is not currently available in the textual transcript of the Kremlin's website in July 2022. Putin already claimed that the Russians withdrew from the Ukrainian capital to create conditions for negotiations. During a meeting with African leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Ukraine's neutral status is of fundamental importance to Russia. The Kremlin leader also said that Russia is supposedly ready to seek a peaceful settlement of the war and has never refused to negotiate. Putin added that the African mission's approach to Ukraine echoes the Chinese peace plan. We, on our side, have never rejected negotiations. We have always said that we are ready for further dialogue. Putin underscored. Putin reiterated that Russia has always stated its readiness for negotiations publicly. Therefore, I believe that the ball is totally in their court. I will not tell the details of what we negotiated right now. That would be inappropriate. However, not all know that, and we know it very well that Kyiv obtained its independence during the dissolution of the Soviet Union based on the Declaration of Independence, and this declaration states clearly that Ukraine is a neutral state. This is of principle importance to us. It is not quite clear for us why the West started pulling Ukraine into NATO. Putin concluded. Adding that, in Moscow's opinion, this is what poses a fundamental threat to Russia's interests.