Putin ready to talk to Trump on ending Ukraine war but…
Talks should take as starting point preliminary pact reached between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Turkey during early part of war, says Russian President
Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is ready to talk to upcoming US president Donald Trump on the possibility of ending the Ukraine war but made it clear that Kyiv must be prepared to make “compromises”.
“We have always said that we are ready for negotiations and compromises,” Putin told the media in Moscow on Thursday, asserting that the Russian military was advancing across the entire front.
“Soon, Ukrainians who want to fight will run out, soon there will be no one left who wants to fight. We are ready, but the other side needs to be ready for both negotiations and compromises.”
Talks with Trump
Putin was asked what he might be able to offer to Trump, who has vowed to swiftly end the Ukraine war, without giving any details on how he might achieve that.
The Russian president said he was ready to meet Trump but had not spoken to him in years.
Putin maintained that Russia had no conditions to start talks with Ukraine and was ready to negotiate with anyone including Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Putin on Istanbul pact
But he insisted that any deal could only be signed with Ukraine’s “legitimate authorities”, which for now the Kremlin considered to only be the Ukrainian parliament.
He added that any talks should take as their starting point a preliminary agreement reached between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Turkey during the early part of the war.
Some Ukrainian politicians regard that draft deal as akin to a capitulation to Russia.
Putin on Oreshnik missile
Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has triggered the biggest crisis in relations between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
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Putin touted what he said was the invincibility of the Oreshnik hypersonic missile, warning he was ready to organise another launch at Ukraine and see if Western air defence systems could shoot it down.
‘Should have sent troops earlier’
Putin rejected claims that Russia was in a weak position and insisted that Kyiv must be prepared for compromises.
The Russian leader defended the 2022 invasion of Ukraine as a defensive operation against NATO expansion.
But he added he should have sent troops into Ukraine much earlier and that Russia should have been better prepared for the dragging conflict.