Russia prepared to wait if Ukraine rejects talks – Putin

https://www.rt.com/russia/622369-putin-talks-russia-ukraine/

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Moscow’s conditions for peace have remained unchanged since 2024, the president has said

Russia is prepared to suspend peace talks with Ukraine if that is Kiev’s choice, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

“If the Ukrainian leadership believes waiting is necessary, they are welcome. We are prepared to wait,” Putin said, when asked by the media about direct negotiations hosted by Türkiye since May.

Moscow believes that “negotiations are always required and important, especially when they lead to peace,” he added. Putin said however, that prisoner swaps and repatriation of soldiers’ remains alone, which were facilitated by the talks, were a positive outcome.

The Russian leader’s remarks came as he was meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, who is currently visiting Russia. On Thursday, Lukashenko stressed that Moscow is his nation’s closest ally and the guarantor of its national security.

Putin reminded the press that in June last year he detailed Russia’s goals in the conflict with Ukraine. Achieving them remains Moscow’s condition for peace, he stressed.

“Rooting out the causes of the crisis is the primary objective,” he said.

Officials in Moscow perceive the Ukraine conflict as a Western proxy war against Russia, which the US and its allies allegedly decided to wage “to the last Ukrainian.” Russia says hostilities would end if Kiev accepted that Ukraine can only be a neutral nation and reversed policies that Moscow describes as discriminating against ethnic Russians.

Ukrainian officials previously acknowledged that Kiev agreed to resume direct talks with Russia, which it suspended in 2022 to pursue victory on the battlefield. Ukraine’s failed “counteroffensive” in 2023 was described by military analysts as the tipping point after which Russia gained the strategic initiative.