Putin wants the war in Ukraine to end "as soon as possible"
- Putin said he wants the conflict in Ukraine to end "as soon as possible" after nearly ten months of fierce fighting with Kiev's troops.
- "We will work to ensure that it ends. Of course, the sooner the better," the Kremlin chief told a news conference.
- Russia said Ukraine refused to negotiate. Kiev says Russia must stop its attacks and give up all territory it has seized.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he wanted the conflict in Ukraine to end "as soon as possible" after nearly ten months of fierce fighting with Kiev's forces, and Le Monde reported.
Putin said: " Our goal is not to turn the wheel of the military conflict, but on the contrary, to end this war. " We will work to ensure that it ends. Of course, the sooner the better,” The Kremlin chief said at a news conference.
Russia has stressed that it is open to talks, but Ukraine and its allies are skeptical that a series of defeats and a Russian troop withdrawal have changed 10 It was a tactic to buy time after months of war building momentum in Kiev's favor.
On the day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House, Putin told reporters: " I have said it many times: an intensification of hostilities will lead to unreasonable losses.
"Any party to a conflict sits down at the negotiating table and reaches an agreement.
" All armed conflicts end with some form of diplomatic negotiation ," he added. " Either party to the conflict sooner or later will sit down and reach an agreement. The sooner this achievement reaches those who oppose us, the better. We never gave up on that.
Russia says Ukraine refuses to negotiate. Kiev says Russia must stop its attacks and give up all territory it has seized.
Putin also downplayed the importance of the Patriot air defense system Biden agreed to provide to Zelensky, saying Russia would find a way to deal with it.
Russia will 'break' US Patriot missiles
He said it was " quite old" and did not work like Russia's S-300 system. "There will always be an antidote to the Patriots," he said, boasting that Russia would "break the Patriots." " So those who do this are in vain. They are just prolonging the conflict, that's all. "
Putin also said that the price caps imposed by Western countries on Russian oil were designed to limit their ability to finance the war and would not affect the Russian economy. He said he would sign a decree early next week to determine Russia's response.
An offensive launched in February was supposed to bring Russia a lightning victory, but Ukrainian forces, aided by Western arms shipments, forced Russia to abandon its attempt to conquer Kiev in the spring before retreating to several other regions in the fall.
Luohua News Agency
