BERLIN, February 27. /TASS/. Western countries may put pressure on Ukraine to engage in peace talks with Russia if Kiev’s offensive fails, Germany’s Bild newspaper wrote on Monday.

The paper reported, citing German and US officials, that the West "intends to use new weapons supplies to make it possible for Ukraine to return the territories [controlled by Russia] by the fall" but the West’s pressure for talks would increase if Ukraine’s offensive failed.

The newspaper also said that behind the scenes, the West was giving ultimatums to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky despite its policy of unlimited support for Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal wrote on February 24 that earlier in the month, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had urged Zelensky to start considering the idea of talks with Russia.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier that Zelensky’s decree banning talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin was the key obstacle for the peaceful settlement, as well as the Ukrainian leader’s initiatives revealing that Kiev was detached from reality, including the demand that Russian troops be withdrawn from Donbass, Crimea, the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.