Putin says Russia ready for peace talks with Ukraine; wants India to play mediator

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (September 5) said that he is open to peace talk to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and that India could be one of the mediators.

According to the The Sun, Putin, while speaking at the 2024 Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, said a deal struck between Moscow and Kyiv in Istanbul in the first weeks of the war in 2022, could serve as the basis of fresh peace talks.

‘Never refused for talks with Kyiv’

“Are we ready to negotiate with them?” the Russian president reportedly said at the event.

“We have never refused to do so, but not on the basis of some ephemeral demands, but on the basis of those documents that were agreed and actually initiated in Istanbul,” he added.

The deal reached between the two nations at the Turkey capital could not be implemented. Its terms have not been made public yet.

Putin also added that India, China and Brazil could act as mediators if Ukraine agrees to the peace talks.

Putin’s dig at US, UK ‘elites’

Asserting that the Ukrainian negotiators had agreed to the Istanbul deal, Putin accused the US and some European countries of not allowing its implementation.

“We managed to reach an agreement, that is the whole point. The signature of the head of the Ukrainian delegation who initialled this document testifies to this, which means that the Ukrainian side was generally satisfied with the agreements reached,” The Sun quoted him as saying.

“It did not come into force only because they were given a command not to do so, because the elites of the United States, Europe – some European countries – wanted to achieve a strategic defeat of Russia,” he added.

Disagreement over keeping occupied territory

The Russian president had suggested peace talks on previous occasions, but had remained stubborn on his demand to allow Russia to keep occupied Ukrainian territory. It is speculated that Putin will stand his ground on the issue if fresh peace talks are initiated.

Ukraine had maintained that it will not have direct negotiations with Russia and had been equally resolute about not ceding any part of its territory to the enemy.

It is yet to respond to Putin’s fresh call for peace talks.

Ukraine's counterattack

Putin’s hint at possible talks comes weeks after Ukraine launched a surprise attack across the Russian border into Kursk. Kyiv now claims to have invaded 500 sq miles of Russian territory.

Footages showed thousands of Russian soldiers surrendering or taken prisoners by the Ukrainian army.

Russia has responded to the attack with a fresh spell of air attacks on Ukrainian cities. At least 55 have been killed and over 300 injured in a Russian missile strike on the Poltava military communications institute in Ukraine’s Poltava on Tuesday (September 4).

The Russian invasion of Ukraine which began on February 24, 2022 has left hundreds of thousands of people dead while displacing over 8 million Ukrainians. Russia claims to have occupied 20 per cent of Ukrainian territory since the invasion.