Putin says Russia seeks to end, not freeze, Ukraine conflict and is ready for talks
He acknowledged that Ukrainian attacks in Russia had inflicted real damage
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[MOSCOW] Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday (Sep 2) that Russia wanted to end, rather than freeze, the conflict in Ukraine and was ready to hold talks.
Speaking to reporters after attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Putin said Moscow remained open to negotiations.
“We want to end the war and achieve lasting and complete peace throughout Ukraine and Europe, and we are ready to engage in this negotiation process with anyone who is willing to do so,” Putin said.
He said that Russia was winning the war in Ukraine and portrayed the Ukrainian leadership as “terrorists” with whom it was not possible for Moscow to negotiate.
Putin, in his most detailed comments on the war for many weeks, acknowledged that Ukrainian attacks in Russia had inflicted real damage and said that drones posed a particular challenge.
But he said that Russia was advancing on the battlefield and told reporters: “I have no doubt the enemy will crumble.”
He declined to say when that would happen.
Rumours that Russia would be forced to order a new military mobilisation were “utter nonsense,” he said.
Russian troops had captured 270 sq km of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine in August and a large group of Ukrainian troops were surrounded, Putin said.
Reuters could not independently verify his statement.
Russia continues to advance towards the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, Putin said, adding that Moscow’s forces were preparing to launch massive strikes against energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
Putin said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s warning to airlines that Ukrainian drones would effectively shut down Russian airspace sounded like “state terrorism” and that Moscow would find a way to respond if it happened.
Speaking at a news conference after a summit in Kyrgyzstan, Putin said it was not possible to negotiate with “terrorists”.
He also said, however, that Moscow was open to “concrete” talks on settling the Ukraine conflict if new momentum could be injected. REUTERS
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