Russia is ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the Ukraine war, but Kiev and the West refuse to get involved in negotiations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview broadcast on Sunday (25).
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 10 months ago sparked the deadliest European conflict since World War II, and the biggest clash between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
There is, as yet, no end in sight to the war.
The Kremlin says it will fight until all its objectives are achieved, while Kiev says it will not rest until all Russian soldiers are expelled from all of its territory, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
“We are ready to negotiate with all parties involved on acceptable solutions, but that is up to them – it is not us who refuse to negotiate, it is they,” Putin told state television Rossiya 1.
CIA Director William Burns said this month that while most conflicts end in negotiation, the CIA’s assessment is that Russia is still not serious about talks.
An aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Putin needed to come back to reality and recognize that it was Russia that did not want negotiations.
“Russia single-handedly attacked Ukraine and is killing citizens,” Mikhailo Podoliak wrote on Twitter. “Russia does not want negotiations, but tries to avoid responsibility.”
“No Other Choice”
Russian attacks on power generation facilities since October have left millions of Ukrainians without heat and water.
“The threat of enemy air strikes and missile strikes on critical infrastructure facilities remains across the entire territory of Ukraine,” the general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Facebook update.
Russian troops bombed dozens of towns and positions along the front line, causing civilian casualties in the southern region of Kherson. Moscow denies targeting civilians.
According to Putin, Russia is moving in the “right direction” in Ukraine because the West, led by the United States, is trying to break Russia apart.
“I believe that we are moving in the right direction, we are defending our national interests, the interests of our citizens, our people. And we have no choice but to protect our citizens,” Putin said.
Asked whether the geopolitical conflict with the West was approaching a dangerous level, Putin said: “I don’t think it’s that dangerous.”
Putin said the West started the conflict in 2014 by ousting a pro-Russian Ukrainian president in the Maidan Revolution protests.
Soon after, Russia annexed Crimea and Russian-backed separatist forces began fighting in eastern Ukraine.
“Actually, the key here is the policy of our geopolitical opponents aimed at separating Russia, historical Russia,” Putin said.
Putin describes what he calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine as a watershed moment when Moscow finally stood up to a Western bloc he says has been trying to destroy Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Ukraine and the West say Putin has no justification for what they call an imperial-style war of occupation.
Putin has described Russia as a “single country” and said the vast majority of its people are united to defend it.
“As for the main part — 99.9% of our citizens, our people who are ready to give everything for the interests of the Motherland — there is nothing unusual for me here,” Putin said.
“This just once again convinces me that Russia is a unique country and that we have an exceptional people. This has been confirmed throughout the history of Russia’s existence.”
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