Russia is ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has disclosed, while accusing Kyiv and its western allies of “refusing” to negotiate.
Speaking in an interview, President Putin noted that Russia is ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions.
He added that Russia was acting in the “right direction” in Ukraine because the west, led by the US, was trying to cleave Russia apart.
Moscow has persistently said it is open to negotiations, but Kyiv and its allies suspect Putin’s claims are a ploy to buy time after a series of Russian defeats and retreats on the battlefield.
The Russian president said on Thursday that Moscow “will strive” for an end to the war and that this would inevitably involve “some kind of negotiations on the diplomatic track”. His comments came a day after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the US.
John Kirby, the White House’s spokesperson, said Putin has “shown absolutely zero indication that he’s willing to negotiate” an end to the war. Adding that everything he is doing on the ground and in the air bespeaks a man who wants to continue to visit violence upon the Ukrainian people.
