Vladimir Putin suggests Ukraine war is ‘coming to an end’ | Russia
Vladimir Putin says he thinks Ukraine war is over; The remarks came just hours after Moscow vowed to defeat Ukraine in its most scaled-back Victory Day parade in years.
“I think the matter is coming to an end,” Putin told reporters about the Russia-Ukraine war, Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II. He has said he would be willing to negotiate new security arrangements for Europe and that his preferred negotiating partner would be Germany’s former chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
Putin, who has ruled Russia as president or prime minister since the last day of 1999, is facing a wave of anxiety in Moscow over the war in Ukraine, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, left large parts of Ukraine in ruins and depleted Russia’s economy. Russia’s relations with Europe are worse off than at any time since the depths of the Cold War.
Russian forces have so far failed to capture the entire Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, where Kiev’s forces have been pushed back to a series of stronghold cities. Russia’s advance has slowed this year, even though Moscow controls less than a fifth of Ukraine’s territory.
Speaking on Saturday, Putin harshly criticized western support for Kiev as the first day of the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire was marked by accusations of mutual violations.
“Them [the west] It began to escalate the conflict with Russia, which continues to this day.
“According to me [the war] It’s coming to an end, but it’s still a serious issue.
“For months, they expected Russia to suffer a crushing defeat and its state to collapse, but it did not happen.
“Then they got stuck in that hole and now they can’t get out.”
Putin continued his usual attitude in meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, adding that he was ready to meet Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a third country after all conditions for a possible peace agreement were met.
“This should be the end point, not the negotiations themselves,” he said.
Asked if he was willing to participate in talks with the Europeans, Putin said: “Personally, for me, the former chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Schröder, is preferable.”
Many in Ukraine and Europe will be skeptical of Schröder’s inclusion because of his history as a close friend of Putin and his ties to Russian businesses and projects such as the Nord Stream gas pipelines. After the outbreak of war in 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy He called Schröder ‘disgusting’ For meeting with Putin and speaking in favor of the Russian monarch.
Russia, Ukraine and Donald Trump announced on Friday that a three-day ceasefire between both sides will come into effect from Saturday. Moscow and Kiev shared accusations of violations due to ongoing drone activity and civilian casualties on both sides.
The Kremlin said there were no plans to extend the ceasefire. Each of the warring parties also agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners during the ceasefire. Putin said on Saturday that Russia had not yet received any offer from Ukraine regarding the swap.
The Victory Day parade was much smaller than in previous years; For the first time in nearly two decades, no military equipment was on display and only a handful of foreign dignitaries attended; most of them were leaders of Russia’s close allies.
The previous week, open expressions of desperation were received from Russia for the parade not to be disrupted due to Ukrainian attacks. Moscow threatened to bomb central Kiev, including foreign embassies, and warned missions abroad to evacuate their staff.
Zelenskyy, on the other hand, celebrated Saturday as Europe Day, which marks the founding day of the EU, after previously issuing a “decree” allowing the Moscow march to continue. He said Ukraine was “an integral part of the European family.”
“From the first days of the total war until today, Europe has sided with Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. “And this is not charity, it is a choice that Europeans make: to stand on the same side with the brave and the strong.”
Unlike high-profile visitors including China’s Xi Jinping at last year’s event, Putin’s parade was attended only by the leaders of Belarus, Malaysia, Laos, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
The war, now in its fifth year, has killed hundreds of thousands of people and become Europe’s deadliest war since World War II.
European Council President António Costa said last week that he believed there was “potential” for the EU to negotiate with Russia and discuss the future of Europe’s security architecture.
With Reuters and Agence France-Presse
